The Second Apprentice
by Dr. Bathroom
Summary: Fifteen years after Negi's time, Evangeline is still stuck under the Hell School curse and is the last remnant of Negi's Class 2/3-A. Another young mage claims that he's Class 2-A's new instructor, Evangeline thinks she's found her new plaything.  Now also featuring Yue!
1. Marten

"Come on! Let me see it Uncle!"

"Cut it out, Sarah! This letter is for me!"

"Ah, let her see it. She's only five."

"She can see it after I'm done!"

Sarah snatched the paper out of his hands before he even began to open it. David really needed to learn to control his kid. The girl could not continue this disobedient behavior for much longer. She was five! She had already begun her schooling at the academy two years ago; she only had another five to straighten out her behavior. It was dangerous to let some girl who thought it was alright to take things people were using right from them to run amuck with magic! Where would she draw the line? The charm of it had run out after the first time she had done it. It was time for a change.

Well, she still had five years to get that down. Five years at least, really.

Of course, she was David's little angel, his pride and joy. Nothing that he could do or say would ever make his older brother see any fault in Sarah. So for the last five years he had buckled down and just prepared himself for anything the girl had thrown at him. Which, during those five years, seemed to be just about everything from strawberry jam to anything else she could fit in her hand and lob at his head. Still, he had to be as nice as possible to his niece.

But, she had stolen his diploma.

His veritable proof that he had finally graduated from the Academy. The piece of paper that would tell him his next task on the road to becoming a Master Magi. That task had been haunting his dreams and every waking thought for as long as he could remember. He really, really wanted that answer.

And now it was in the hands of a five year old girl.

"You little brat! Give that back!" Marten bellowed. He scrambled forward, nearly tripping on his ceremonial robes, but Sarah stayed just out of reach. He tripped finally, hitting the marble floor with a loud "whump". David chuckled above him, earning a glare from his younger brother.

"No way, Uncle! I get to see it first!"

The little girl scurried to a pillar down the corridor and hid behind it. She was probably trying her best to hide from both her father and uncle, or at least stay out of their reach long enough to read the diploma.

"Is it really that important that you see it first? It'll still be th-"

"Yes! It is very much that important!" Marten interrupted, pushing himself off the floor.

"It's never anything exciting. It's usually some sort of minor apprenticeship. I was apprenticed to an enchanter for three years."

Marten dusted himself off and gave his brother a look. "Yeah, but you were also ten. I've been waiting longer than you have."

Marten was fourteen.

The Magic Academy of Wales normally let students graduate at the age of ten. Correction. The Magic Academy of Wales normally let students who were not complete screw ups graduate at the age of ten. Marten, unfortunately, was not one of the normal students. When Marten was ten, he had managed to let one of his spells go a bit haywire and managed to set one of the Academy's stables on fire. This little mistake had really put the instructors at the academy on edge about his prospects of graduating that year. In fact, it seemed that it put them on edge about him graduating for the next four years.

It was not that Marten was necessarily bad at magic. In fact, he was quite adept with spell slinging. Marten just was the type of boy who spent the whole night studying for an examination, only to sleep completely through it.

So he was late for his graduation by about four years.

He finally made it around the pillar to find Sarah seated with his letter open in her lap.

"Sarah. Seriously. Give that back."

David stepped up behind his brother and ruffled the younger boy's mop of dark brown hair.

"Sarah, sweetie. I think it's time you gave Uncle Marten his letter back.

Sarah smiled at her dad, putting on her best "I'm so sorry" face. She held the paper out with one hand. Marten snatched it back greedily from her, folding it shut again. He had to at least pretend he was the first to read it. He shot her a glare.

"About time you little monster."

Sarah giggled.

Marten took a deep breath and opened the paper up. The words had already appeared on the paper when Sarah had attempted to read it, so they sat there, rather lack-luster for Marten. He sighed. She had even taken the fun out of it.

"Well, it says here that I'm supposed to…"

Marten froze and let his mouth hang open. He closed the paper up again, before giving both David and Sarah a look of concern.

"It says you're supposed to do…." David began.

Marten just gave him another look, before shutting his mouth and folding the paper in half again. Without saying anything, he turned on his heel and headed back down the corridor in a hurry. David watched him leave, back towards the area the ceremony for his graduation had just taken place minutes ago.

He felt Sarah's little hand wrap around two of his fingers before he looked down. She was still watching him go.

"Sarah, sweetie… what did Uncle Marten's letter say?"

Sarah smiled again. "Uncle Marten's going to be a teacher."

David looked up in time to see Marten round the corner and disappear. His eyes grew wide before he picked up his daughter in both his arms and hurried after his brother.

By the time David caught up with Marten, the fourteen-year old was waving the offending piece of paper over his head, storming up to the man in charge himself. David could only watch in horror. He was actually going to complain to the Headmaster about his diploma?

"Magus!"

David groaned to himself. This did not bode well.

"Magus!"

Of course, Marten had reached the old man first. David did not even have a chance to stop him physically. Especially not carrying Sarah. He stopped behind his brother and slowly lowered his daughter to the ground. Sarah quickly hid behind her father, watching the Magus and her Uncle.

The Magus, more silvery beard than actual man, turned to the boy, clutching his gnarled staff in one hand. The wisdom that came with a beard like that seemed to radiate off him. Yet Marten just held his diploma out to the Magus with one hand. He struck it with the other.

"Sir, there has to be some sort of mistake. My diploma. I mean… certainly there's a mistake or some sort of joke that I'm not getting here because it's certainly not funny. I mean, I get that I'm the guy who burned the stables down and accidentally knocked over all the shelves in the library that one time and all the other things that basically make me the laughing stock of this school, but this isn't funny." Marten took a deep breath. "Sir, my diploma says I'm supposed to be a teacher in…"

The Magus tilted his head ever so slightly.

Marten stared at him, before shaking his head.

"Okay. See. No. Okay. The thing is…" He pushed the diploma forward further. "I am…. I'm not exactly sure if this is the best choice here. I mean… I took four more years than the kids I graduated with to actually graduate. That girl who was the top of our class? She came up to my chest." He shook the paper in front of the Magus. "I mean, I took longer than anyone I know to graduate and probably longer than anyone in the history of the Academy and… and."

Marten struck the diploma with his other hand again.

"Now you want me to teach?"

The Magus nodded slowly again.

Marten began to hyperventilate.

David finally stepped in, tugging on his shirt collar. "Excuse me, Magus. Marten. What does your diploma say?"

Marten just shoved the diploma into David's face, his breathing becoming more erratic. "I'm… I'm going… going to be a teacher."

David nodded, taking the diploma in his hands. "Okay, so we can agree that it's a bit of an unusual test for you. But I'm sure you'll be able to…"

"Read it."

David opened the paper and looked down at it.

"This certificate hereby certifies that Marten O. Caruthers has finished…" He trailed off, mumbling to himself.

Marten actually stopped breathing for a few moments before taking in ragged breaths again.

David started up again. "Your final test will be to become a teacher in…" He trailed off once more, shaking his head as if to clear the last thought from it.

"Your final test will be to become a teacher in-"

"Japan." The Magus finished.

David let the diploma fall from his hands.

"The diploma has spoken, Young Caruthers. Calm yourself."

Marten's breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Master Caruthers, not even I, the Magus, can change what your diploma has set before you."

Sarah stepped out from behind her father and picked up Marten's diploma. She pushed it back into his hand, which clamped down on it, crushing it between his fingers.

The Magus raised a thick eyebrow at Marten. "You may be interested to know that fifteen years ago, just one year before your brother graduated from our halls, that this very same test was put before another graduate." He indicated to David with his staff. "Do you recall his name, Mr. Caruthers?"

David shook his head. The Magus looked at Marten. Marten shook his head as well.

The Magus chuckled. "His name was Negi Springfield."

Marten's eyes widened. "I have… I have the same test as Negi Springfield. I got the same diploma as Negi Springfield."

"The very one and same, Master Caruthers." The Magus smiled, barely visible under the great weight of the beard that consumed him. "It is an odd thing. A test like this is not something that comes so often. The fact that it has appeared again so soon makes me fear that something troublesome may be in our future."

Marten looked down at his diploma. "Why… Why me? I mean… I could have been kicked out ages ago…"

The Magus put a wrinkled hand on Marten's shoulder.

"I cannot say why you were chosen." The Magus replied. "Young Master Springfield was unsure of himself as well. I believe that it chose you for the same reason it chose him. I believe you are destined for great things."

The Magus took his hand from Marten's shoulder, but David replaced it with his own.

"Marten… That… You must be honored."

Marten looked at his diploma. "I… Yes."

He would have much rather preferred three years of apprenticeship to an Enchanter, really.

"Sir, but… a fourteen year old boy doesn't just… get a teaching job. I can't imagine anyone here hiring him, much less in Japan." David interjected.

The Magus chuckled again. "The school that the diploma speaks of will not be an issue. If there is something dark on the horizon for us, I'm sure that Mahora Academy will be involved somehow. Marten will not be alone, Mr. Caruthers. Many of Negi Springfield's old allies are still at Mahora and they will offer young Marten any assistance he may need. Some may be harder to convince than others, but I am confident your brother will find a way. After all, Negi Springfield was only ten when he received his test. Marten has four additional years under his belt."

Marten still looked at the paper. Four years of not graduating was all he had under his belt.

"I… I see." David muttered.

The Magus turned from them, clacking his staff against the marble floor.

"I will say what I said to Negi Springfield all those years ago." He took a step away from them. "If it was written on the diploma then that is the end of the matter. You must train hard, Marten Caruthers, in order to become a great mage."

Marten looked up at the Magus and nodded once.

There was no turning back now. Especially not after all the hard work he had put in over the last few years.

David squeezed his shoulder tightly as something dawned on Marten.

"David…"

"Yes, Marten?"

"I don't speak a lick of Japanese."


	2. Evangeline

Another new teacher.

Evangeline leaned back in her chair and closed both her eyes. She had lost count of all the new teachers that had walked through the classroom door since she had been confined to Mahora. Well, with the exceptions of Takamichi and that brat.

The one who swore he would lift the curse holding her here. The one his idiot father had put on her.

Yeah. That was fifteen years ago.

Maybe he was still looking for a way. Maybe he had given up on it already. All that really mattered was she was still sitting in the same stupid class, in the same stupid seat, stuck waiting for something she was sure was never, ever going to happen now.

She opened an eye, scanning the classroom. All these new faces. All these unfamiliar girls chattering amongst themselves. She could hear the start of an argument somewhere in the room. It would probably spiral out of control soon and result in a fight.

Most arguments ended in a fist-fight of some sort in class 3-A. They always did. That was just how things worked in class 3-A. They were not considered the most difficult class to deal with for no reason. Year after Year, no matter the teacher or the new batch of girls to walk in that door, they were always the difficult class.

And Evangeline was tired of it.

She had been tired of it for years before and the lethargy was picking up again.

Ever since her No-Good "Oh sure I'll release you" apprentice had left the school, the highlights of Evangeline's days had returned to being these stupid little fist-fights the girls got into. And they were getting boring again. She had given up on the idea that a new batch every few years would provide some new sort of entertainment, but it never did. Each batch was a new set of disappointing morons, airheads and space wasters.

Her eyes stopped on the girl in the first seat of the class, hunched over a notebook. She frowned. That seat was supposed to be empty. It should have been empty. It was empty before Negi was here and…

She sighed. Sayo was gone with that Asakura girl now… She had left years ago. She had not bothered to even find out why or where she was going.

Not even Chachamaru was with her now. She had gone off with her rotten-stinking apprentice.

Evangeline sighed as she slumped over her desk.

She was the last forgotten relic of the old Class 3-A, still doomed to reside here for all of eternity.

It made some sense. Sure, little Negi had given his word to lift his father's curse. But, there did not seem to be a clear solution to the problem yet, beyond Evangeline draining ever last ounce of blood from his body.

And the whole fact remained that she was a vampire. An evil little witch of a vampire. And she was sure that her first act after being set free would be to level this entire god-forsaken school and everyone in it until nothing but dust remained.

Both were fairly good reasons for her to still be in this stupid seat.

Oh yes. Try walking in the light for a while.

Apparently, to the Springfield family, a "while" translated to "possibly other six hundred or so years."

Evangeline tapped the desk with her pointer finger. It was good that Negi hadn't shown up to the school in the last few years. She would have killed him by now.

She drummed her fingers on the desk, turning her attention to the two girls who had been arguing.

One of them punched the other in the shoulder for something. Evangeline had already drowned them out. She never really listened. Why care? It was always the same reasons. They were fighting over some boy or some catty remark. Or a missing pencil. Or whatever it was that these girls fought about now. All she wanted was for one of them to uppercut the other in the jaw and knock out a few teeth.

Some other girl, taller than these two, walked up and broke them up before it could get any better. No real damage done. Both glared at each other, before the taller girl told them something. It was probably that they needed to take their seats. Their teacher would be here soon after all. The girl that had been punched rubbed her shoulder, before turning on her heel and heading to her seat. The other two slowly sat back down as well.

Evangeline looked up at the clock.

Their new teacher was five minutes late on his first day. What a wonderful way to start off the year.

Evangeline sat up and brushed some of her hair back.

Well if he could not be bothered to be here on time, why should she be bothered to even show up for class? It was not important to him, obviously. She should not care either. She did not, in fact.

She stood and straightened her blazer. Who cared about some new idiot teacher anyway? Mahora Academy had become so utterly bland over the years since Negi's departure. Maybe she would just skip the year entirely and lounge about in her resort. Anything was better than sitting here through another normal teacher.

She stepped away from her desk.

The door to the classroom slid open.

Evangeline paused, one foot in the air, as a boy entered the room.

She stared at him, mouth open just a fraction of an inch.

No. There was no way.

And Takamichi strode in after him. The man gave Evangeline a look that clearly suggested that taking her seat was a good idea.

She rolled her eyes and sat down again.

"Girls." Takamichi began, taking his hands out of his pockets. He ushered the girls into their seats with a few motions and stuck them back into his pockets. "Settle down and we'll get started here. We both apologize for the late start of homeroom."

Evangeline watched Takamichi, his hair getting thinner and more silver than gray every day, settle the rambunctious girls of Class 3-A down without even yelling over them. Her gaze travelled to Takamichi's companion.

The boy had a scraggly mop of dark brown hair and was at least as tall as most of the girls in the class. He was white; pale from, if she was correct about his origin, long hours indoors, studying. He stared up at the class with dark blue eyes, colored like the water in a public toilet. There were a few freckles splattered over his nose and under his eyes.

He certainly looked just as boring as a normal teacher.

The boy was dressed in a drab brown suit, with an olive sweater-vest and a red tie. It looked like he had lots of room in it. He had probably never lifted anything heavier than a stack of books in his life.

"Class 3-A. Girls. I'd like for you to meet your new instructor, Caruthers-sensei."

The boy gave the class a small, stiff bow.

The girls of the class were silent, dumbstruck at the idea. Evangeline smirked at him.

She had been sitting in this very same seat when a ten-year old boy had been announced as their teacher fifteen years ago.

Once again, class 3-A was being taught by a young mage.

Things were certainly going to get very interesting again.


	3. First Day

Marten was waiting for some man named Takamichi, who was supposed to introduce him to his new class. He imagined it was to actually confirm to the class that he was, indeed, their teacher. Yes. A fourteen year-old boy was their teacher.

He had already found the classroom by himself. That was easy enough. The difficult part was actually setting foot through that door and meeting his class.

The halls were already empty. Classes had started a few moments ago.

Takamichi, whoever he was, was late.

Marten placed a hand on the door, already nervous about this whole ordeal, and winced at the shouting inside. Wuietly, she slid the door open a fraction of an inch to peek inside.

Two girls were fighting .Marten stared at the heated argument in awe. One of them punched the other in the arm. Marten covered his mouth with one hand.

Mahora was a majestic school, a city of a school in fact, that practically radiated class and sophistication from every inch and these two girls were having a fist-fight.

Luckily, a taller girl separated the two before it could escalate into anything worse. Marten let his hand drop and continued to scan the room as best he could through the crack he had made.

Slowly, a fact he had managed to black-out for the last two months managed to surface and dominated his every thought.

This was an all-girls school.

Marten closed the door and rested his head against the doorframe. This would be difficult. Very difficult. He could feel the sweat forming on his palms right that second. He had never… dealt with any members of the opposite sex around his own age. The problem with graduating four years later than he was supposed to that was for his whole life, he had been dealing with girls who still thought he was gross and had cooties.

These were young women. With needs. And wants. And now someone was just throwing a boy their own age in front of them and going "Hey. He'll be here for the rest of the year, five to six days a week! Deal with it!"

Fight or flight. Fight or flight.

Marten chose flight.

She spun around and jumped at the sight of an older man standing behind him.

The man chuckled and Marten settled down, pressing his back against the wall.

The man had both his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

"Caruthers, yes?"

Marten nodded furiously before his manners caught up with him a second later and he threw in a hasty bow to the man.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Takamichi Takahata. I'll be your advisor for your time here." He gave Marten a small nod of the head. "I see you found the infamous class 2-A all on your own."

Marten straighted himself up. "Uhm… Yes. I did."

Takamichi smiled again. "You seem to be very proficient at Nihongo. You did that all in two months?"

Marten nodded and then shook his head. "Well, I mean in the normal world it was more like one month but with the right spells and…" He trailed off. Crap. There it was. He had revealed it all before he had even walked into the classroom. There went becoming a Master Magi. "I mean… Uh. Just… Uhm."

Takamichi chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'm quite familiar with your situation. Still, you should be proud of grasping the language in such a short time."

Marten gave him another bow. "Thank you, Takahata-san."

"To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about sticking you with the same class that Negi had taught in. The first part of Negi's stay with us was rather… problematic at times. The girls tended to just run him over until he really settled in."

Marten nodded.

"You're a bit older than Negi was, of course. So you might have an easier time keeping up with the girls, but your age brings up other… issues…" Takamichi gave him a look. "That I'm sure you'll have to address sometime soon. Even Negi had to deal with the girls eventually confessing… certain feelings for him."

Marten nodded and held out a hand. "I… I believe I understand. Do not worry, Takahata. I just want to do my job and get on with my training. I'm already years behind."

Takamichi nodded and held out a small folder he had tucked under one of his arms. "This is your class roster. I've left some notes for you in the margins about most of your students. Some will probably give you a bit more trouble than others. If so, just come talk to me and I'll take care of it."

Marten took the folder in hand. "Thank you once again, Takahata-san. I will be sure to try my best."

The older man strode past him and to the door. "It seems that class 2-A is always a… lively bunch of girls. Don't let them boss you around, Caruthers-san. I believe you will do fine." He opened the door and held out a hand for the boy to go first.

Marten gave him a glance and straightened his tie.

Here it was.

The boy took a deep breath to summon all of his courage and walked through the door, into the classroom. His classroom.

Takamichi followed in the boy's wake and closed the door behind him.

Marten stared in awe at the size of his class. There were over thirty girls here. A few of them broke away from their conversations or other activities and stared at him. He instantly looked away, focusing on the back wall of the classroom. There was no way he was ready for this.

No way in hell.

Takamichi subdued all the girls into their seats and to attention without any need of raising his voice. Marten could feel dozens of pairs of eyes on him now. He closed his own and took another deep breath. No use in getting all worked up now. Things would most likely only get harder from here.

"Class 2-A, I'd like for you all to meet your new instructor."

Dead silence.

And then every single girl started up at once.

"What? No way!"

"How old is he?"

"How can he be a teacher?"

Marten opened his eyes. The class had divided their attentions between him and Takamichi. He looked around quickly. Yep. Every single one of them was yelling or talking to another one.

Takamichi let out a shrill whistle and the room fell silent again.

"Girls! Control yourselves!"

Takamichi put a hand on Marten's shoulder and pushed him forward.

"Why don't you introduce yourself, hmm?"

Marten stared at the sea of girls in front of him. Every pair of eyes was now glued on him. A few girls even were balancing on the edge of their seats. Marten made his way to the podium at the front of the classroom and placed his briefcase on the ground next to it. He never broke eye contact with the room. Not really that much by choice. He was fairly sure he looked like he had just crapped his pants in front of everyone and was too shocked to say anything.

At least that didn't really happen.

He coughed to clear his throat.

Here goes two months of intensive language studies.

"Uhm… Hello everyone. I'm Marten Caruthers… And I'll be teaching English for the next three terms."

He tried his best to smile at them.

"It's… a pleasure to meet you all."

Dead silence again.

And then the shouting began again. All kinds of shouting.

"WE HAVE A BOY TEACHER!"

"HOW OLD ARE YOU?"

"WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

"HOW CAN YOU BE OUR TEACHER?"

"THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!"

Takamichi whistled again, louder. Marten even had to stick his fingers in his ears to keep them from hurting.

"Girls! Please! I won't ask you again!"

One of the girls seated in the front row raised her hand.

"But… aren't teachers usually old?"

Takamichi crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the girl.

"Uhm… no offense, Takahata-sensei."

Marten coughed again.

"I assure you… I am fully qualified to teach English."

Takamichi nodded again. "Caruthers-sensei has all of his credentials. The Headmaster and I made sure of that, girls."

The girls all whispered amongst themselves.

Takamichi held up a hand and they fell silent once more.

"I'm sure you have all heard about another young teacher this class had years ago. He was even younger than Caruthers-sensei here."

The girls started to whisper again.

"That's right. I heard about that."

"Yeah. My mom was in her senior year when that happened."

"My sister said something like that too!"

Takamichi nodded. "That's right. Now keeping that in mind, it shouldn't be hard to accept Caruthers-sensei, now should it?"

The girls nodded slowly.

"Good." Takamichi smiled at them and turned to Marten. "I believe everything is in order, Caruthers-sensei. Best of luck to you."

Takamichi dipped his head to the boy and then to the class before he disappeared out the classroom door.

Marten, wide-eyed, turned back to the calss.

The girls stared back at him.

"I…" Marten began, his mind grasping for anything he could do. "I suppose we'll start class then…"

The girls continued to watch him.

Marten turned and walked to the chalkboard. "If… If you'll all turn to p-page 115, and we'll start at-"

"Excuse me sensei."

Marten turned around. The girl who had questioned Takamichi a few minutes ago had her hand up again. He made his way back to the podium and opened his class roster, looking for her picture.

"Uhm… Yes… Arai, Junko, correct?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, Sensei. I have a question."

Marten attempted a smile again. It probably failed miserably. "G-Go ahead."

"How old are you?"

Marten rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhm… I'll be Fifteen this spring."

The girls whispered amongst themselves again, and there was some giggling as well.

Junko tilted her head. "Forgive me for saying, but isn't it… kind of weird to put someone our age in charge of us? Especially a boy."

He nodded slowly. Of course it was weird. You know what was even weirder? When that fourteen year old boy also happened to be able to use magic. Real magic. Not those Master of Illusion types of magic.

"I believe that… yes, this Is an odd happenstance. But, I think that if we are all mature about the matter… and remember that I am, indeed, your teacher and I should be treated with…" He trailed off, looking over at the girls again. "The… The respect that my position deserves."

Marten coughed into a fist. "Is that everything?"

"Where are you from?" Another girl piped up.

"I'm… I'm from Wales. It's a part of England."

"Are you some sort of genius or something?"

"Uhm… I don't… really classify myself as one. But I suppose I could be called one."

Silence again.

Marten nodded. "If that's all, please open your books to page 115 and we'll get started."

The sound of the girl's books opening filled the classroom. Marten was used to that sound. It was the sound of getting down to work. He smiled.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.


	4. Introductions

Evangeline let this boy run his class for the first day. Truth be told, with how excited these girls were, it would probably be the only time he was fully in charge of them. They would run him ragged soon enough. He would not even see it coming.

So she would give him one day.

She yawned and slumped forward onto her desk again.

The two girls in front of her exchanged whispers and giggled.

She closed her eyes.

He might not even have that one class.

Evangeline opened her eyes again as the bell rang and the girls began to pack their things up.

She sat up slowly and smoothed down her hair as they began to hurry out of the classroom. Her eyes were plastered to their new boy teacher. Currently, he was making a feeble attempt to shout over all the ruckus of the class stampeding out. He gave up without much of a fight, causing Evangeline to scowl. Great. He lacked a backbone, just like Negi did when he first arrived.

What a bother.

At least she would get some fun out of getting him to show that spine.

She stood as the last girl exited and he shut the door behind her. The boy let out a sigh and placed his head against the door. He was so defeated looking already. What a joke. This kid wouldn't last a week without any sort of intervention.

Perhaps a direct approach was more suited this time.

Evangeline walked away from her desk, slowly making her way down to the door.

Marten looked up and spotted her. Out from under his arm came that folder he had walked in with. He began to mutter under his breath as he searched it.

Evangeline cracked her knuckles in both hands and held them loosely at her sides.

Marten looked up. One of his eyebrows were raised at her

Evangeline stopped moving and put on her best "innocent" smile. She held a hand out to the folder he was holding. "Let me guess. Takamichi said to call him if I became a problem?" She dropped the smile. "Things might get messy if you get Takamichi involved, boy."

Marten stepped away from the door and planted himself, feet spread evenly apart. "What are you talking about, McDowell, was it?" He raised an eyebrow. "I assure you I can handle whatever childish pranks you're planning-"

"Lic lac la-" Evangeline began.

Marten's eyes widened and he held a hand out at her.

Good. At least he could recognize an activation keyword.

"Ab aeterno, poss ad es-" He spat out.

He was quick too.

But she was quicker.

Evangeline smirked and dropped the incantation. In one fluid motion, she sprung the remaining ten feet to him and grabbed his outstretched arm with both hands. The boy froze mid-recitation, horror written all over his face as he stared down at her.

"Too slow." She remarked, before heaving him upwards. She flipped him over her shoulder by his arm, flinging him at the back wall of the classroom.

He hit it was a loud, sickening "thump", followed by another as he hit the floor.

Evangeline turned on her heel and marched back to him.

He was groaning as he picked himself off the floor. Evangeline seized him by his coat's collar and hauled him to his feet. The boy looked down at her, dazed. She smirked at him.

The dazed look vanished from his face and was replaced by anger.

"What are you?" He spat.

Evangeline shrugged. "One of your problem students."

"Ab aeterno, posse ad-"

Evangeline smacked him across the face with one hand and he suddenly stopped. He blinked a few times, mouthing the word "ow". Evangeline lifted him off the ground by his collar.

Marten shook his head, probably to forget the stinging sensation she had just left him with.

"Ab aeterno, posse ad-" He started again, even faster.

Evangeline slapped him across the other cheek with the back of his hand.

He stopped again, face twisting in pain.

"Gah! Ow ow ow! Cut it out, you little monster!"

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "You cut it out, moron. If I wanted to kill you, I'd have started doing it by now."

She shoved him against the wall again and let go. He slunk against it, breathing heavily. Evangeline tossed her hair and lifted his face by the chin with one hand.

He stared at her, angry. He had to be angry. She probably broke one of his ribs.

"What… what the hell was all that for? What are you?"

Evangeline pinched his cheek with her free hand.

"I think it's obvious that I'm in charge here, so shut up. Why are you here?"

Marten glowered at her. He was really angry. Evangeline was quite pleased with herself. This was proving to be almost as fun as when she dragged Negi's backbone out of him. At least this boy had the decency to try to attack her the moment he realized what she was doing.

The boy shoved her hand away from his face and stood properly. He had to be a foot taller than her at least. That probably stung worse than anything she had just done to him.

"I'm here for training. To become a magister magi." He tried to stand and winced in pain. He clutched his side. Evangeline probably did break one of his ribs. Good. That would make this all go about quicker.

Wait. He was here for his training?

She stared at him in silence.

"What?" Marten rubbed his side. He looked down. "Oh thank god, it's just bruised."

"How old are you?"

"I already told the whole class."

"I was asleep." He seized his shoulder and squeezed hard, digging her fingers into him. His face twisted in agony again. "Humor me."

"F-F-Fourteen!" He groaned.

Evangeline let him go. "You graduated four years ago and you're just now starting to work off your probationary contract? What gives?"

Marten just glowered at her, his mouth clamped shut.

"And you can't even defend yourself? What kind of mage are you?" She flicked him in the forehead. "You're pathetic!"

Marten smacked her hand out of the way. "Just because I took longer to graduate, doesn't mean I'm bad at magic! I excelled at combat magic, I'll have you know!"

Evangeline just stared at him, dumbstruck.

"Cut it out! Stop staring at me like that!"

"You just graduated?" Evangeline questioned.

"That's what I just said!"

"So you're a moron."

Marten glared at her. "I excelled at combat magic."

"Oh, Sensei…" She mocked, patting him on the cheek. "I just threw you over my shoulder like a little rag doll. I don't think you saying you're good at combat-based magic would really count. I would destroy you without magic before you uttered a single incantation."

Marten stood his ground.

Evangeline hopped onto her desk and plopped down. She crossed her legs and leaned forward, her trademark evil little smirk playing on her face. "You wouldn't stand a chance."

Marten's shoulders slumped.

"What do you want?"

Evangeline sighed wistfully. "Oh, nothing yet, Caruthers-sensei. At least, nothing from you. The last time we had a young teacher-"

"Oh will everyone stow it with that? I know already. I got the same stupid diploma as him." Marten spat, shoving off from the wall.

Evangeline raised an eyebrow. "You got the same diploma as… That's unusual."

"I know it is. The Magus told me himself it was unusual." He was clutching his side. "But if you're the dark omens that he was talking about being on the horizon, then just know I won't go down without-"

"Oh shut up, moron. He's not talking about me."

Marten clamped his jaw shut. Oh, he practically hated her. This was wonderful. A much better turn than Negi's feel good take care of his students approach.

Evangeline hopped off her desk and strolled to the door.

"Looks like I was right. Things are definitely going to be fun now that you're here." She opened the door, and gave Marten one last look. He was still glaring, rubbing his bruised side.

"What are you talking about?"

Evangeline smiled. "Oh, nothing. Have a good day, Sensei."

She slid the door shut behind her.


	5. Anastasia

Marten took a sip of his tea. His side ached.

That Evangeline girl had done a number on him. His arm felt like it had been ripped out of his socket. Some little girl had beaten the snot out of him.

And for all he knew, she would do it again tomorrow.

He took another sip from the mug and grimaced.

This green tea tasted horrible.

But it was all that the Headmaster would be serving apparently.

The old man smiled at him over the desk between them. He had called Marten in to meet with him after his classes. It had to be some sort of check-up or something along those lines. After all, Marten was fourteen and this had been his first day on the job. His first job too.

"So, Mr. Carthers… How was your first day?"

Marten looked into his mug.

"It was… interesting. It will take some getting used to."

The Headmaster nodded. The old man seemed to be in an unusually good mood despite the fact that moments ago, Marten told him of the Magus's fears. That Marten's placement at Mahora Academy was not just some simple task, but that he feared it was the start of something sinister in the works and that Mahora would be at the center of it. The man had just nodded and had some woman bring in this tray of horrible green tea.

"The first day is always the hardest, they say."

Marten nodded, even though he did not know who "they" were.

Why was this old man not taking his concerns seriously? Did he have to scream them at the top of his lungs?

"I'm afraid it's quite a task you have set before you. It was a difficult ordeal for Negi and he was ten." The Headmaster went on, putting up his pointer finger.

"I am aware, Headmaster." Marten got out through his clenched teeth. Why did every single person have to remind him about Negi?

The ancient man chuckled. "I fear it will be even more difficult for a boy your age. Those girls do tend to get ideas in their heads…"

"Sir, if I may ask you about one of my students…"

The Headmaster nodded.

"This Evangeline McDowell."

The Headmaster eyed him warily. "Has something happened?"

Marten held up his hands in defense. "No no no. Nothing happened." He lied. "It's just… isn't she a bit too young to be in middle school?"

The Headmaster laughed again. "I'd bring that up with her. She may have a more interesting story for you."

Marten opened his mouth to protest, but the Headmaster cut him off.

"There's really no reason to concern yourself with Evangeline just yet."

Marten clamped his mouth shut. What did he mean by 'yet'? There was certainly a reason to concern himself with the only student that had attacked him.

"I must ask, when Negi first arrived, he was only ten and all alone… But by the time he left, he had a whole team assembled."

Marten put his mug on the Headmaster's desk.

"Do you have any partners?"

Marten nearly knocked down his mug as he jerked back into his seat.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Partners, Ministra Magi, Mr. Caruthers." The Headmaster smiled again. "Have you formed any pactios yet?"

Marten frowned and crossed his arms. "I just got here. I haven't exactly had the time to-"

"I meant in general, boy. Not just while you were here."

"No, I haven't." Marten shot back hastily.

"I do not say this to pry, Marten. But if Mahora is indeed at the precipice of some catastrophe, I fear that you will not be able to stand against it alone."

Marten stared at the Headmaster. He had become so grim.

He was being dead serious.

Those words dominated his mind as he made his way back to the apartment the school had given him for the year. It was not something incredibly spectacular, but it was much nicer than his room back at the Academy in Wales. He head that Negi had stayed in the girls dormitory while he was at Mahora. That would definitely not be happening with Marten.

Which was fine.

He preferred to be alone.

He unlocked his apartment door and put his head against it. Today was too long to be real. But his bruised ribs and ego reminded him that in was very real.

And today was only the first day.

With a sigh, Marten pushed the door open and slipped into his apartment. He flicked the light on and shut the door behind him.

The apartment was comprised of three fully-furnished rooms. There was a combination kitchen-living room, a bathroom and a bedroom.

He tossed his briefcase onto the couch as he walked past it on his way to the bedroom. Why had he not studied more on healing spells back in Wales? These bruised ribs were killing him.

He turned on the light to the bedroom and froze as he spotted the open window. The window that was not open when he left. Marten swept his hand at it and the window slammed shut. He wheeled around, one hand held out.

He was not alone.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" He called out.

Marten slowly backed out into the living room, holding his hand in front of him. Maybe Evangeline had come to finish what she had started? Was this how it ended?

Marten was not going to take that chance.

"Ab aeterno, posse ad-"

"Stop that this instant."

Marten wheeled around to the voice.

A black cat sat on his briefcase, staring at him.

"Anastasia!" Marten spat out, clutching his chest. "You nearly scared me to death!"

The cat tilted her head. "It is nice to see you too, young one."

Marten sighed and slunk down against the wall across from the cat.

"What are you doing here? Did father send you?"

"The Master did not send me. Your elder brother sent me to watch over you." The cat stared at him with wide gray eyes. "It has been some time since we last spoke, young one. You have grown taller."

Marten closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I know, Anastasia."

"Also, my congratulations on finally graduating from the Academy."

Marten smiled. "Thank you, Anastasia."

Anastasia sprung from her spot to the floor and padded over to him.

"Was your first day of the probationary task enjoy…" She stopped and nudged Marten's side with their nose.

"You are injured."

Marten lifted his head to her and nodded. "I was attacked."

"Did you not defend yourself?"

Marten groaned as he stood. "I tried. She was too quick."

Anastasia sat down next to him. "Explain what happened, young one."

"One of my students attacked me. After class, I started my incantation and she… threw me over her shoulder like I weighed nothing at all." He shook his head. "I bruised a few ribs, I think. Nothing feels broken." Marten picked up his briefcase and pulled the class roster out.

"Did you speak with the Administrator about your attacker?" Anastasia bounded up onto the couch. "What is this?"

Marten opened the folder. "It's my class listing." He placed it on the couch and pointed at Evangeline's picture. "She's younger than me too. I don't understand what she's doing in my class. She might not even be human for all I know."

Anastasia looked away from Marten and to the picture. The cat arched her back suddenly, all the hair on her small frame stuck up. She let out a high-pitched yowl.

"The Queen of the Night!"

Marten nearly fell over as Anastasia spat out her accusation.

"What are you talking abo-" Marten froze. "Wait, was she there when your family…"

"NO!" The cat hissed at him. "She is much, much older than I am, young one."

Marten picked up the folder and looked down at Evangeline's unsmiling face. "So, is she cursed to not age like you… without the… cat thing?"

Anastasia closed her eyes.

"No, young one. She and I are not under the same curse."

Marten looked up from the photo.

"She is a vampire."

"What? She's a what?" Marten sputtered.

"She is hundreds of years old, young one. And I fear she may be an obstacle that will overwhelm you unless we act quickly."

"That's… how is she out during the day if she's-"

"This abomination is not a typical vampire. She was created by magical means. Neglect any information about vampires you might have collected over your years." Anastasia stared at him gravely. "They will not aid you against this monster."

Marten shook his head. "If she was going to kill me, she would have done it by now…"

He shuddered. At least that was what she had said.

"That is something to consider." Anastasia muttered.

Marten shut the class roster. "So, what do I do?"

Anastasia sighed. "I fear the answer does not come to me that easily. We must know more about our foe or better yet, we must discover why she is at this establishment." The cat began to pace back and forth on the couch. "Please repeat to me anything odd she might have said you can remember."

Marten shrugged. "She just insulted me, beat me up and…" He stopped and turned his head to the cat. "Wait she said "the last time we had a young teacher." That means she was here when Negi taught here."

The cat sat back down. "Interesting. Very astute, young one. Now, why did she not just destroy Master Springfield when he arrived?"

"I don't know. The Headmaster said he was alone when he got here. Since he and I both just graduated it's safe to assume we're both somewhat on the same level with magic."

Anastasia tilted her head.

"So… what did he have that I don't?"

"A Ministra Magus." Anastasia flatly stated.

Marten looked at the cat again. She calmly swished her tail back and forth as she stared back. Not her too with this Ministra Magus idea.

"Let's put that… idea on the back burner for now, please."

Anastasia did not move.

"So, let's assume he beat Evangeline In combat. What would he have done then? Obviously not eradicate her."

Anastasia stood.

Marten leaned his head back and groaned.

"Could he have befriended her?"

Anastasia hopped off the couch.

"I believe you'll need to extract the information directly from the source."

Marten closed his eyes.

"Fantastic."

"There is, of course, the option of acquiring a Ministra Magus." Anastasia chided.

Marten winced at the idea.

"After all, that is a valuable tool you hold in your hands to find one."

Marten glanced down at the class listing and grimaced.

"Someone from my class? But… I just met them today!"

Anastasia shot him a look. "Logically, Springfield would have selected his Ministra Magus from his own class."

Marten sighed and opened the roster.

"I don't even know how this works."

"Do not worry, young one. I will be alone to guide you. We need not search as magi like yourself tend to naturally attract candidates."

Marten gulped down nothing as he repeatedly nodded.

"Wonderful."

Anastasia sauntered off into the bedroom. "Also, do not overlook your other task. I suggest you prepare for your instructions tomorrow."

Marten glanced to all the papers and books in his briefcase.

That's right.

He was a teacher.

"Crap."


	6. Lick my Feet

Evangeline did not show up for class the next day.

Which was fine, because even with the heightened natural healing that came with being a mage, his ribs still bothered him. Another encounter with the vampire girl was the last thing he wanted right now.

Anastasia had decided she would accompany Marten to each class from now on. She rode in the hood of his coat on the way to class, and hid behind the podium during it, curled up.

The classes were interesting. The girls giggled after some of their answers and many became flustered or frustrated when translating the Japanese verses in the books to English.

Marten managed to learn a few of the girls names by the end of the class.

Chieko Yoshida was Class 2-A's representative. She was almost as tall as Marten, with thick black hair that came down just past her shoulders in two thick braids. Marten could always feel her watching her with her dark eyes behind those glasses of hers. She was of a slender-build and appeared very serious about everything, especially her school work.

She recited her passages slowly, but in almost perfect English. Marten rarely had to correct her.

The girl who had called Takamichi old yesterday was Kida Masamura. She spent her time brushing her long, straight, almost burn-orange hair from her eyes. She followed Marten with her own gaze, but completely different from the way Chieko watched him. Kida followed him, eyes wide, as she chewed on her pencil.

Marten had no idea why she would ruin a pencil by chewing on it.

She constantly stopped and second guessed herself when translating, and it ended with a great deal of giggling.

Finally, there was the girl in the first seat, Junko Arai. Junko spent her time in class as the only student who barely acknowledged Marten at the front of the class. She instead spent her time staring out the window or up at the ceiling.

When Marten called on her, she recited her lines quickly, but perfectly. He suspected she spoke English as well as Japanese.

When he would compliment her recitation, the girl would shrug or adjust the hairband that held back her long, wild brown locks of hair and close her green eyes. Once or twice, Marten caught her leaning back in her chair, chest pushed out, head back as if she were sleeping.

Marten tried his best to ignore her.

The second class ended without any fights or other nonsense. The girls stampeded out, except for Junko, who would stretch at her desk until everyone else left, then lope out slowly, whistling.

Marten watched her close the door and looked down. Anastasia peeked out from under the podium and stretched.

"Young one, I do believe that with the exception of the dark mage in your class, this task seems relatively simple, if not mind numbing."

Marten walked off and began pushing in the seats of some of the girls who had left them out. One was Kida Masamura's.

"It's actually pretty nerve wracking. I write each lesson the day before, and I fear it's only going to get harder as the term goes on." He sighed. "I hope I can keep up."

Anastasia jumped onto one of the desks and followed him, jumping to the next when he made his way to it.

"What about the Ministra Magi? Have you made a decision?"

Marten scowled. "No. I haven't. It hasn't even been a day, Anastasia."

The cat purred. "The quicker, the better."

Marten ignored her and stopped Evangeline's seat. He stared down at it, as though it was on fire.

"I wonder why she didn't show up for class…"

Anastasia hissed softly. "Do not question the absence of the dark one. It is a blessing."

Marten sighed. "Something is keeping her from killing me, at least for now. I just… want to know what it is." He touched her desk with a solitary finger.

Anastasia's hair stood on end as Marten yelped and leapt back.

"Gah! Nothing! It's nothing! I'm okay!" He sighed. "But it's… like I can feel her hatred just… slathered onto that thing."

Anastasia leapt back from the table to the floor next to Marten. "It seems that The Dark One's desk may have absorbed some of her emotion. She must have been trapped here for quite a while."

Marten sucked on his finger as if it were burnt.

"There is no injury. Do no exaggerate." Anastasia chided. She dashed off, back to the podium and back to his coat. Marten followed her slowly.

"Come. We must depart. The chances of someone accidentally discovering us are much higher while we are in this classroom." Anastasia expertly jumped onto the podium. Marten pulled on his coat and she jumped into the hood.

"Make haste, young one."

Marten shook his head and left the classroom.

Evangeline was in class the next day.

By some sort of miracle, Marten managed to make it through the lesson without a panic attack. Though he did stutter and stumble through the whole class, with Chieko constantly correcting him.

When the bell ran, Marten watched the girls file out of the room until he and Evangeline were left.

The vampire girl stared at him from her seat.

"Did you miss me, Sensei?" She called out.

Marten stared back at her in silence.

"I was going to skip again today but Takamichi told me to come to class." She went on. Evangeline stood and started to walk towards Marten.

"Wonderful." Marten muttered.

"I thought you might have told on me."

Marten took a deep breath.

"Why are you here?"

"I just told you that Takamichi-"

"No!" Marten snapped. "Why are you at Mahora Academy?"

On the inside, he cringed. Demanding things of the ancient powerful vampire who could crush you without even trying was probably not the greatest idea he ever had.

"I… I mean, I can't imagine you wanting to be here." He stammered out. Evangeline was frozen to the spot, halfway across the classroom.

"Very astute, Sensei." She mocked. She continued down to the last row of desks and hopped onto one. She crossed her legs and gave him that same smirk from the other day.

"My guess is that something trapped you here."

Evangeline lost her smirk to a scowl. "Watch what you say, boy."

Marten gripped the sides of his podium with both hands, trying to brace himself, just in case she rushed him like last time.

"If you really aren't the darkness that I'm supposed to stand against then…" He trailed off, his confidence dwindled. This had seemed a much better plan last night. Now it just seemed like suicide. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Help me."

Evangeline stared at him in silence.

Then she began to laugh.

That laugh chilled him to the bone.

"And why would I help you?"

Marten stepped around the podium.

"You helped Negi."

Evangeline said nothing.

"You could have easily done away with him, but you didn't."

Marten took a few steps closer to her.

"I mean, even if you fought him outright and lost, you could have simply waited and bided your time." Another step closer. "Eventually, he would have let his guard down and you could crush him."

Evangeline hopped off the desk and made her way down to Marten. She stopped in front of him.

"You trained him, didn't you?"

Evangeline just glared at him.

"Then help me. Train me too."

Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest. "The boy beat me in a battle. You've done nothing to prove to me that you're remotely worth training." The vampire scowled. "So no, Sensei. I don't think I will."

Marten gulped. "Then I'll fight you."

Evangeline laughed again. "I have no time for your jokes, boy."

"I'm serious." Marten said, holding his hands out. "I don't want to fight you, but I'll do it if it means you'll train me like you did with Negi."

Evangeline lowered her arms and tilted her head.

"Besides, if the Magus was right, I'd rather have you on my side when trouble comes." Marten concluded.

Anastasia poked her head out from behind the podium and stared at the duo. She uttered a low, throaty growl at Evangeline. The vampire switched her gaze to the cat.

"You brought a cat to class?"

"Yes. She tried to talk me out of asking you for help." Marten rubbed the back of his neck.

Evangeline turned her head back to him. She sighed and sat down on the desk next to him. "You are quite intent on this, aren't you boy?"

Marten just nodded. Of course he was. He was just risking his life by asking her.

Evangeline slipped one of her shoes off and began to pull her sock off. Marten opened his mouth to question, but the sultry look she gave him shut him up. She dropped the sock to the floor and raised her foot to Marten's face.

"Lick my feet and maybe I'll think about it."

Marten took a step back in shock. "I beg your pardon?"

Evangeline wiggled her toes at him. "At my core boy, I'm an evil mage. You want my help that badly? You can start by licking my feet and then we can talk about you swearing your eternal devotion to me as my slave."

Marten looked from her foot to the evil smirk she was giving him. Something told him she had given this speech before.

"He will do no such thing!"

Both Evangeline and Marten turned to Anastasia, who was now perched on the edge of the podium, arched.

She hissed at Evangeline.

"Step away from him, you monster!"

Evangeline lowered her foot. "Your cat really does talk."

Marten shrugged. "I said she did."

Evangeline smiled. "And what's your name, kitty-kitty?"

The cat hissed again.

Marten sighed. "It's Anastasia Romanov."

Evangeline made a little "O" with her mouth.

Anastasia rounded on Marten.

"You dare to utter my full name to this creature, Young One?"

Marten offered his best sympathetic look. "She's going to help us, Anastasia."

Evangeline shot him a glance. "I haven't said I'd help you."

Marten shrugged again. "You haven't said you wouldn't either. You're also still sitting here."

Evangeline turned her head from him. "I haven't made my mind up yet." She waved her hand at Anastasia. "Besides, you trot your little princess cat in front of me and just expect me to leave?"

Marten gave her a small smile.

The vampire girl dropped to the floor and pulled on her sock and shoe. "I will let you know when I made up my mind, Sensei."

Evangeline stood and gave both Marten and Anastasia one last look before she left.

As the door closed, Marten dropped to his knees and let out one, long shuddering breath. Anastasia bounded over.

"Are you alright, young one?"

Marten looked up, breathing heavily. "I can't believe she didn't rip my throat out!" He exclaimed. "I was so sure she'd attack me again. I nearly wet myself."

The cat nuzzled against his side. "You were very brave."

Marten chuckled weakly. "Yeah… Thanks, Anastasia."

"But it was also incredibly foolish." She smacked his side with her paw.

Marten chuckled again.

Anastasia turned to the door. "So what is your course of action now, young one?"

Marten sighed and stood slowly. He looked down at the cat and sighed.

She would enjoy this step.

"My guess is that she'll try to test me. Which will probably result in us having to fight again. If I win, she'll train me."

Anastasia hissed.

"I know. You don't like that idea. But she's powerful and I need the help."

Anastasia sat down and stared at the door. "So, she'll challenge you to combat?"

Marten nodded. "Some variant of combat, I'm sure."

"In which she will destroy you, no doubt."

Marten frowned. "Unless I have help."

Anastasia looked back at him.

"I guess we're going to have to find me a partner after all."


	7. Pactio

Anastasia placed her paw over the girl's picture.

"I nominate this girl here."

Marten made a noise at the back of his throat. He pushed the roster away from him, across the coffee table. Three days and each day he had dreaded the idea of seeing Evangeline in class. Once again, the vampire had taken to skipping all three days.

Which actually worried Marten more that he thought it would. He was counting on her challenging him to some sort of magical fight. With her being gone for so long, maybe she was coming up with some other test. Something he was not planning for.

"I have a headache. Can we talk about this later, Anastasia?" Marten whined.

Anastasia jumped from the coffee table to the couch and batted at his arm.

"This is not a matter for us to take so lighting! The Dark One could appear at a moment's notice!" The cat scolded, batting him one last time.

Marten sighed and leaned back on the couch. She never stopped with this, unless they were in class. Then once that bell rang and the girls left, she started back up with it. Every waking second since he had agreed to finding one, Anastasia kept going on and on about potential canidated.

And she kept changing her mind.

"Anastasia, please…"

"No, young one!" Anastasia "You must decide!"

Marten sat upright with a huge groan.

"Fine! Fine!" He pulled the folder back to him. Anastasia switched back to the coffee table and indicated to the same photo as before.

"Okay. Her." Marten nodded slowly. "Is this your final suggestion?"

"Yes."

"Okay, because you said something else yesterday."

"I know I did."

"And before that it was-"

"Young one! I know what I said!" Anastasia interrupted.

Marten put his hands up. "Alright! Alright!" He looked down at the girl's photo. "So… why her?"

"After much careful debating, I have determined that you need someone who can engage Evangeline physically, while you attack her with magical means."

Marten nodded. "Okay then. Why her?"

"This girl is a member of the fencing club."

"Okay. Still, why her?" Marten pointed to another girl's picture. "She's in the Chinese Martial Arts Society." He pointed at another picture. "Or her. She's in the judo club."

Anastasia flicked her tail. "Well, if you must know, she's ranked higher in her club than anyone else is in their respective clubs."

Marten frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Because while you've been sleeping at night, I've been researching."

Marten stared at Anastasia's suggestion. It was better than nothing.

"Fine. She'll do." Marten closed the listing with a sigh.

Anastasia seemed pleased with herself. She was even purring.

"So, how does this work exactly?" Marten shifted in his seat.

"Well, you're still a bit too young to perform a true contract, so you and the girl will make a provisional contract." Anastasia stood and began pacing.

"A provisional contract?"

"Yes. Think of it as a temporary contract. At this stage of your life, you have the ability to form as many contracts as you would desire." She went on. Marten watched her make circles on the table.

"When you become an adult, you would choose who would become the permanent contract."

Marten nodded. "Okay. So, how do we actually form the contract? Is there some sort of ceremony?"

Anastasia shook her head. "No no no. It is relatively simple. I would create a magica circle and the two of you would stand within the circle and kiss."

Marten stared at Anastasia in silence for a moment. The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry. One more time please?"

"You would both stand within a magica circle and kiss."

Marten nodded. "Okay. Yeah, that's what I thought you said."

He leaned forward until he was eye to eye with Anastasia.

"Are you crazy? I can't kiss my own student!" He shouted. Anastasia yelped and dashed off the table and into the kitchen.

"Seriously! It's bad enough I have to explain that I'm a mage that needs help fighting a vampire! He stood from the couch and headed into the kitchen. "Now I have to ask her to kiss me? Do you know what that makes me? A pervert! I am a teacher trying to kiss a student and that makes me a pervert!"

Anastasia hissed at him from the corner she had backed up into. "Do not frighten me like that!"

"Well did you ever think to tell me that for this pactio thing to work, I'd have to kiss one of my students?"

"I doubt that Springfield had any other options!"

"He was ten! It's a little bit different here!" Marten growled and clutched at his head with one hand. "Great. Now I really do have a headache."

Anastasia apprehensively made her way over to him. "Are you feeling ill?"

"No. It's fine…" He muttered. "I mean… No. This is bad, Anastasia. She'll think I'm weird and I'll get reported. Then I get fired and there goes my shot at becoming a Magister Magi. This is called Sexual Harassment and does not really look good for a teacher, Anastasia."

"She won't say no, young one." The cat piped up.

"What?" Marten lifted his hand from his head and looked down at the cat in disbelief. "She won't? What?"

"She won't say no."

"What? Why?"

Anastasia sighed. "Place your faith in me, young one." The cat padded out of the kitchen and Marten followed. "Everything will go as planned tomorrow."

"This is… ridiculous. I can't believe I have to kiss-"

"Why? Are you nervous about your first?" Anastasia purred as she hopped onto the couch.

Marten froze and stared at the cat. His face turned a bright shade of pink.

"No! Shut up! I'm going… I'm going to bed!" Marten stammered as he stomped off.

He could hear Anastasia laughing as he slammed the bedroom door.

Evangeline was in class the next day.

Marten managed to keep his cool, despite the vampire girl staring at him the entire class. Why did she have to do that? Had she already decided on a trial for him? Would she just attack him after class again? He could feel the sweat forming on his palms and the back of his neck. He could feel it!

During one of the breaks during their recitations, Kida raised her hand.

"Excuse me, Caruthers-Sensei?"

Marten put his book down and tried his best to ignore Evangeline's gaze. "Uhm… Yes, Masamura-san? Did you… you have a question a-about the reading?"

"No… Not exactly." She began. Kida pushed her bangs out of her eyes again. "I just… I mean no disrespect but… isn't it a bit… dangerous for a fourteen year old boy to teach a class of girls his own age?" She smiled.

"Uhm… D-dangerous? I'm not sure what you mean."

"It's just… Well, with all the hormones running around, won't teaching us be difficult for you?"

Marten closed his eyes and sighed. "I assure you, Masamura-san, that I can keep my hormones in check."

"I wasn't referring to you, Sensei."

Marten opened his eyes and locked them with Kida. The girl continued to smile back, giving him the same looks she gave every class. Slowly, he turned to the rest of the girls that made up his class. All eyes were on him. Even Junko had turned away from the window and was watching him, amused. One of the girls in the middle of the class blew him a kiss.

Marten's gaze snapped back to Kida and she winked at him.

"Uh… Right. I… If…. Uh." Marten stuttered. Why did they all have to look at him? He lifted his book to hide the bottom half of his face. "If… If that's everything… Let's pick up where we left off." He squeaked.

Twenty uncomfortable minutes later, the bell rang and the girls began to file out. Marten watched them and took a deep breath. He could picture Anastasia under his podium, stretching as she got ready for their plan to spring into action.

"Excuse me, Masamura-san?"

Kida turned from the door. Marten dreaded the look of excitement on her face.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Could you push your chair in? You always forget it."

Kida's hopeful outlook slowly faded into boredom as she walked back to her desk. Evangeline strolled past her and flashed Marten a smile. One of her trademark evil little grins. He cringed. At least she was leaving.

He gave Kida a polite smile as she left. The girl smiled back, the eagerness returning, and walked out of the door.

Marten turned to the last girl in the room.

"Arai-san… Could I speak with you for a moment?"

Junko looked up from her bag and nodded. She lifted the thing and met Marten in front of his podium. He stepped down and stood with her. She was a few inches shorter than he was.

"Yes, Sensei?" She gave the door a glance. "This won't take too long will it? I have practice today and I forgot my stuff at the dorm."

Marten looked at the door too and frowned. "Uhm… perhaps. I wanted to ask you a favor and… there's a tiny bit of a story to it."

Junko turned back to him.

"Uh, alright. I guess."

Marten took a deep breath. He had not thought of how exactly he was going to ask Junko any of this, nor tell her. It was just time to plunge into the deep end and hope he did not sink.

Here goes nothing.

"I'm a mage."

Junko frowned. "You're a what?"

"I'm…" He shook his head. "I can cast magic. Real magic. And… And I need your help to fight a vampire in the class."

Marten put on his best serious face.

Junko stared at him in silence for what seemed an eternity.

Finally she laughed. Sarcastically.

"Yeah. Really funny, Sensei. Can I go now?"

"I'm not lying, Arai-san. I'm being completely serious."

The girl groaned as she rolled her eyes. "Okay. Sure." She started for the door. "I'm going to go before I'm late for my club meeting."

Marten extended his hand past the girl and flicked his wrist.

The door slid shut.

"Arai-san. Please."

Junko turned back to him.

"Look, if Rin put you up to playing a prank on me, I'm not laughing." She turned her face to the door. "And she'll get a great big pounding if she keeps it up!" Junko yelled.

"It's not a trick." Marten assured. He held up his hand and placed it between them. "Just… watch."

He held up his pointer finger.

"Ab aeterno, posse ad esse! Ardescat!"

A single point of flame began above his fingertip.

Junko's eyes slowly widened at the sight of it.

Marten managed a small smile. "And… this is just a small practice spell."

Junko's eyes switched to Marten and her jaw dropped open.

"Wha-What are you?" She whispered.

"I'm a mage." Marten shook his hand, dismissing the spell, before lowering it again. "I can cast magic and… well, basically that's it. I'm sort of an almost fail-" He shook his head. "Nevermind that.

Junko just stared at him.

"Technically, I'm still in training. My last test is to be your teacher. It's the same test that Negi Springfield, the ten year-old from fifteen years ago, had." He smiled as best he could. "I know this is really crazy."

Junko gave him a feeble nod.

"But the thing is that one of your classmates is a vampire and I need your help fighting her." Marten instantly realized this was much crazier than it sounded. Which was bad, because the whole concept was crazy to start with.

"That is…" Junko began, shaking her head. "Wow. I… Who's the uh… vampire? Yoshida?"

"McDowell."

Junko's jaw dropped again. "What? The shrimp in the back row?" Junko snorted. "That's unbeli- okay. That's maybe not the best word to describe a girl being a vampire when my teacher just showed me he's some sort of… wizard."

Marten just tried to keep on smiling.

"This is really… You're not kidding right? This isn't some elaborate practical joke?" Junko put her bag on the floor. "I mean… it's a pretty elaborate one if it is."

"It's really not a joke." Marten assured. There was no time for jokes.

"So you want me to help you kill a vampire?"

Marten frantically waved his hands as he shook his head. "No no no. I don't think she can be killed, really. I just need to beat her in a fight… so she'll agree to train me."

Marten frowned. He was starting not to believe this himself.

"Train you? What? Like in vampire stuff?"

Marten shook his head. "No. In Magic combat. She's… a mage too. She trained Springfield when he was here."

Junko nodded slowly. "Okay. So… what's in this for me?"

Marten opened his mouth. Then closed it and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Uhm… I'm… not sure. The fact that you're…"

Junko shook her head. "No. Okay. I want… a waiver on all work in your class for the term." Junko crossed her arms over her chest. "If you haven't noticed, I'm actually pretty good at English, considering my Mom is from America. Your work is just busy work and I don't really want to do it."

Marten held his hands out. "Yeah. Sure. That's fine."

"Okay. Then… I guess I'll help you." Junko shrugged. "Nothing else is happening around here anyway."

"You're sure now?" Marten asked. "This could be very dangerous."

"I'm sure. I mean… you'll protect me, right? With your magic?"

"I will try my best." Marten muttered.

"Then yeah. I mean, this could be fun right? Teaming up with a boy wizard? Fighting a vampire? It's kind of like a video game."

Marten smiled. That was certainly easier than he expected.

"So what do I do? How do I help?"

Marten grinned sheepishly. "Uh… Maybe Anastasia should explain that."

"Who's that?"

"My cat."

Anastasia, as if on cue, finally sauntered out from her hiding space and over to the duo. She stared up at Junko with her large gray eyes.

"Your cat is going to explain?"

"Indeed I will, child." Anastasia purred.

Junko's legs almost gave out from under her from the shock. She straightened herself and gave the cat a wide-eyed stare. "That… That cat talks! You have a talking cat!"

Marten nodded, still with the sheepish grin.

Junko suddenly scooped Anastasia up into her arms and held her tight against her chest. "This is the best thing I've ever seen!" She exclaimed, grinning at Marten. "Do you know how badly I've wanted a talking cat? Ever since I was a little girl and I was watching Sailor Moon and-"

"Put me down this instant!" Anastasia demanded, wiggling in the girl's arms.

Junko instantly dropped the cat. Anastasia landed on all fours and glared at the girl.

"Now, if there aren't any more interruptions… you and the Young Master will be forming a provisional contract, or a pactio. It marks you as a partner of the Young Master and allows you to draw upon his magical abilities." The cat began to circle around them. Each step she took was deliberate and measured out. This was it.

She was starting the magica circle.

"So, what? I'll be able to do Magic like Sensei?"

"Not exactly. The pactio should heighten your natural abilities. If we're lucky, it should also grant you a magical item."

Anastasia was almost done with the circle now.

"So, do I have to take some sort of oath or recite something?" Junko asked. "I don't have to draw blood or anything, do I?"

"No, child."

Anastasia finished the circle.

There was a flash of light before Junko and Marten were surrounded by a soft, warm glow. A breeze kicked up within the circle, flapping Marten's jacket and Junko's skirt, along with their hair.

"All we require is that you kiss the Young Master."

Junko stared at the cat. Marten winced. This was it. This was where the plan fell apart.

"A kiss?" Junko asked.

"Correct. Upon the lips." Anastasia confirmed.

Junko turned to Marten and seemed to study him. She took her hairband off and let the breeze play with her hair.

"Alright then." She finally said.

Marten looked to Anastasia and then to Junko. "What? Really?"

Junko smiled and brushed a stray lock of hair behind one ear. "Well, yeah. I mean, I'm helping my magical teacher and his talking cat fight a vampire. A kiss is pretty much the most normal thing I've agreed to today."

Marten smiled.

Junko's face turned a slight pink. "Plus… You're scrawny, but not hideous or anything."

Marten felt his own face turn a bright red at the words.

"Well, it's not a big deal. Just one kiss, right?" Junko looked at the cat.

"Correct." Anastasia purred.

Junko turned back to Marten and smiled. Marten looked away, smiling to himself.

"Time is of the essence."

Marten took a deep breath and turned back to Junko. "Ready?"

Junko nodded. "Ready."

The girl leaned in closer and closed her eyes. Marten leaned to her, his eyes half-shut. Junko's hand cupped one of his cheeks and he closed his eyes.

Their lips met.

It was soft and sweet. Marten made a little sigh as the seconds went on, his arms limp at his side.

His first kiss.

Junko broke away first, moving away slowly. The glow and the breeze started to die down as she moved away. Marten opened his eyes and snapped back into reality. They smiled at each other.

Junko dropped her hand and stood properly. She turned to Anastasia. "Is that it?"

Marten looked at the ground, too embarrassed to let Anastasia see the joy he had gotten from the kiss. There was a card laying there between his and Junko's feet. He stooped down and picked it up.

"More or less." Anastasia replied.

Marten flipped the card over. Junko was on it, in her school uniform. She stood perfectly straight with both hands on the hilt of an ornate sword she was holding, point down. The words "Spiralem Bellatrix" were written under her.

He held it out to Anastasia as he stood. "What's this card thing?"

Anastasia purred. Junko and Marten watched her jump onto the nearest desk.

"That is proof of the contract."

Marten and Junko exchanged glances.

"Congratulations. You are now Magister and Ministra."

Marten held the card out.

"What do I do with this?"

Anastasia sat. "You'll need it. Now, Girl, you're going to miss your club activities today."

Junko nodded. "Anything you say, magic talking cat."

Anastasia purred. "Good. There is much I have to teach the two of you."


	8. The Card

**[A.N. - Short chapter; More Evangeline soon!]**

Junko stared at the card in her hands. It was amazing. She flipped it over, to the image of her with the sword. So lifelike. She ran her fingers all over it.

This was way too cool.

She smiled and slipped the card into her coat pocket.

That was not the only great thing today.

She touched a finger to her lips.

Her first.

What an eventful day.

Junko stood from her desk and looked at her roommate, who was currently sprawled out over the floor, snoozing. The girl was snoring softly.

Junko nudged her with her foot. The girl groaned and swatted her leg.

"Just… five more minutes."

Junko nudged her again. The girl groaned even louder and wildly swung her arms at Junko's legs.

"Leave me aloooone!" She whined, before rolling onto her side.

Junko kicked the girl in her butt. She shot up, seizing her rump with one hand.

"What? What do you want?"

"Why the hell are you sleeping on the floor?"

The girl glanced to the bottom bunk of their room. Currently, it held a pile, rather, a mountain of books. She turned back to Junko.

"My bed sort of isn't an option right now." She flatly replied. The girl stood and cracked her back as she stretched and yawned. "How long was I sleeping for?"

"I don't know, Rin. You were already passed out when I got here." Junko reached behind her and pushed her chair in. "What are all the books for anyway?"

"Club stuff." She combed a hand through her silky, long black hair. "Help me find my glasses, would ya?"

Junko sighed and peered around the room. "Were you up all night reading again?"

Rin turned slowly, scanning the floor as best she could. "Yeah. I could barely keep it together during Caruthers-Sensei's class." She suddenly snapped back to Junko. "Could you believe what Kida said to him today?"

Junko snorted. "It's probably only started from that girl."

"I know. She's basically undressing him in her mind the entire class." Rin plopped to the floor and reached under the bed. "She wants him. Bad."

Junko touched her lips with a finger. Well, that was one she had on Masamura.

"Found 'em." Rin announced, pulling her arm out from the wilds of under her bed. Rin put on the gold wire rectangle frames and stood. "I probably put them there for safe keeping before I took my- What happened?"

Junko froze and stared at her roommate. "What? Is… Is there something wrong with me or something on my face?"

Rin put her hands on the taller girl's cheeks. "Yes. You're smiling. You never smile unless you're holding a sword and waving it around like an idiot." Rin lightly conked the girl on the head. "What did you do?"

"N-Nothing!" Junko sputtered.

Rin frowned at her. "You're lying!" She gasped and took a step back. "What did you and Sensei do after class? I remember he wanted to talk to you!"

Junko's eyes widened. Damn Rin! Why did she have to know her inside and out? "Nothing happened!"

"Liar!" Rin exclaimed, prodding her in the chest. "What did Sensei want?"

"Nothing!" Junko repeated.

"You're lying! He probably wanted to whisk you away to England as his bride!" Rin poked her again.

"What are you talking about?" Junko pushed Rin's hand away.

"Did he? Did he confess that he had fallen in love with you at first sight?" Rin was on a roll now. There was no stopping her. "Oh, Junko, my sweet… When I'm around you, I can barely control myself. Your beauty drives me crazy! And your body! Oh how your body tempts me to touch it all over, especially your breasts!"

Junko closed her eyes, trembling with frustration.

"Which is weird because you aren't as gifted in the chest department as I am." Rin indicated to her chest with both hands.

Junko groaned. "Rin. Stop talking."

"Wha- Oh. Okay." The other girl dropped her hands and tilted her head. "What did Sensei want anyway?"

"He uh… asked if I wanted to… help with tutoring. For his class." Junko fibbed.

Rin groaned. "That's boring." She mussed up her hair, frustrated by the lack of a good story and turned to her bed. "The university students unearthed a passage in the lower levels of the library and put all the cataloging up to the middle schoolers. Plus we have to make copies of their maps."

Rin thrust both her arms out at the pile of books on her bed. "I mean I spent the whole night reading about pottery!"

"Sounds fun." Junko said, sarcastically.

"I can't believe I read as much as I did." Rin complained. "It's so boring. Everything is so boring."

"Well, you said that your club unearthed another lost part of the library. That's cool, right?"

Rin shook her head. "We don't even get to go down there. It's past the approved levels for Middle Schoolers. We just get the busy work from discovery."

"Oh. That sucks."

Rin plopped down next to her on the bed. "Yeah. How was your meeting?"

"Oh, uh, it was alright." Junko scratched her nose. "Just… normal."

"Boring for you too, huh?" Rin stuck out her tongue. "I thought that with the whole having a boy teacher thing we'd have some sort of magical year."

Junko winced at the girl's choice of words.

"But even his classes are… blah." Rin fell back onto her pile of literature.

"I'm sure he's trying his hardest."

"I almost wish Kida would make some sort of move on him so that something would happen." Rin closed her eyes. "How awful is that?"

This conversation was slipping into unwanted territory. She had to find something to distract her. Junko reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the pactio card. Perfect distraction.

"Here. Something interesting then." She held the card out to Rin. "I… found this in my locker after practice."

Rin instantly shot up and grabbed the card from her. "What is this?"

"I dunno." Junko threw in a shrug to seal the deal. " I found it in my locker."

"Ohhh. Hey. That's you!" Rin ran her fingers over the card. "Wow. It's… incredibly lifelike." Rin adjusted her glasses. "Oh. That's Latin!"

"Oh? I thought it was made up." Junko scratched her nose. She had been too excited to ask Marten or Anastasia what it meant. "Do you know what it says?"

"Uh… The Spiraling Warrior… ess." Rin frowned. "I think." Her frown turned into a smile and she handed back the card. "It's so cute!"

"Yeah." Junko put it back into her coat.

"Wish I had a secret admirer to make me one."

Junko smiled. "Well, I'll be sure to tell them when I find out who it was."

Rin grinned. "What if it was Caruthers-sensei?"

Junko sighed. "I doubt that."

"But what if it is?"

"It isn't. Trust me."

Rin sighed and fell back again. "And bored again."

"I'm sure things will get interesting soon enough." Junko patted the girl on the thigh.

Rin let out a puff of air, lifting the bangs from her face. "They better."

Junko looked out their window and smiled to herself.

"I'm sure they will, Rin. I'm sure they will."


	9. Reunion

Evangeline stared out over the lake. Dead center in that lake sat Mahora's Library. An ancient labyrinth filled with traps and magic alongside all those books. Not even she had discovered all it's secrets yet.

The Exploration Club had even unearthed a long hidden passage that led into catacombs that ran deeper than they had thought the library had gone before.

This school was still full of surprises.

Evangeline had started to figure out the boy's test.

She stepped off the roof's ledge and plummeted down to the earth below.

Evangeline landed on both feet, solidly, and strode forward.

To the Library.

She walked down the middle of the bridge, avoiding the light of the street lamps. The Library had to be mostly empty now, except for a few University students that were burning the midnight oil either working or studying.

It would be easy enough to slip past them.

She avoided the front entrance entirely. The large door were most likely locked anyway.

Instead, she used a window on the second floor. The window locks on most of Mahora's buildings could be undone with a simple wave of her hand and the Library was no exception. Evangeline slipped into the maze of bookshelves silently and shut the window behind her.

So far, so good.

She pulled the hood of her cloak up and headed for the catacombs.

It was an hour before she found the entrance to the newly discovered section of the library. The floors and walls were thick with dust and it smelled as if it had not been opened for centuries. Evangeline covered her nose with her cloak and pressed on into the darkness.

She lost count of how many floors she had gone down, or how many rooms she had walked through and how many traps she had expertly avoided. The air was thick with must and residual magic.

Something down here used magic.

Finally, she found a set of doors wit light peeking out from the cracks. Evangeline slowly pushed one open to peer inside.

The door rewarded her with a long, loud creak.

She winced. Hopefully it was empty.

She peered inside.

The room was huge. The ceiling had to be at least sixty feet up, with stalactites hanging down everywhere. They were various lengths, and a few had already reached the floor and joined with it. The rest of the room was dominated by dilapidated bookshelves, and piles and piles and piles of books. Evangeline could hear water rushing from further back in the room, though she could not see where.

Dead ahead of her, in the middle of the room was a huge stone table. There were more piles and stacks of books on it. It was lit by three lanterns. The lanterns were at least three feet wide spheres, with ornate metalwork surrounding them in swooping, curling patterns.

They hovered above the table.

Evangeline looked around. Similar lanterns lit the entire room, floating at various heights and places.

She stepped inside. We're they the cause of the magic she had sensed?

Evangeline took a step further into the room. Something cracked under her foot.

She stooped down and picked it up. It was a ceramic fragment, painted white. Evangeline turned it over in her hands before she dropped it back down to the floor.

There were similar pieces all around her. Hundreds of broken shards.

Her eyes stopped on one large piece. No. It was unbroken. It was a mask. With two large eye holes and nothing else.

What was it from?

There was a shuffle above and a thin river of dirt fell before her.

"Emittami! Jovia Tempestas Fulguriens!"

Evangeline darted back, narrowly avoiding the hand of the spellcaster as they dropped from above. She hopped out of the range of the spell just as it went off. Out came her arms from her cloak as her hood fell down.

She was in attack mode.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your pitiful life, you wor-"

"Evangeline?"

The vampire lowered her arms and stared at her attacker in silence. She was a thin woman, with thick black hair that cascaded in two thick braids.

"What are you doing down here?"

Evangeline pulled her bare arms back under her cloak. "I could ask you the same, Ayase."

Yue Ayase straightened her jacket and shrugged. "The school contacted me a few days ago about the discovery the exploration club had made. I was on vacation in the area and decided to give it a look." Yue turned to the large stone table and began to walk towards it.

Evangeline followed. "You're working on your vacation?"

"Please. This is much more exciting than what I do." Yue replied. She paused mid-step. "Well, not really. It's just nostalgic."

"I see." Evangeline muttered. "What about all those ceramic masks by the entrance?"

"They were on these weird shadow things. I think they were supposed to be guarding this room."

"What for?"

Yue shrugged. "Beats me. I didn't stop fighting them to ask."

Evangeline fell in stride with her. "You fought and defeated them all? There has to be at least fifty masks in those shards."

"Yep. They aren't all gone though. More show up every few hours. You set off the wards when you opened the door, and I sort of mistook you for some of them. Sorry."

Yue stepped right onto one of the benches for the great stone table and then onto the table itself. Evangeline did the same and discovered Yue's campsite.

Ayase had set up a large tent and a laboratory, which even now was boiling various liquids. There were more books arranged in different towering stacks. Yue must have been organizing them.

"You've been sleeping down here?" Evangeline snorted. "Can't afford a hotel room?"

"Can't afford to leave." Yue responded as she stepped off the table. "These ruins are... fascinating. Half these books are entirely in Latin and another good portion are in Hellian." She turned to Evangeline. "I have no idea what they're doing here and I haven't had time to contact Jack about them either... But they're here."

Evangeline nodded. "Astounding. Tell me more about the masked beings, girl. Did you defeat them all on your own?"

Yue looked over at the door. "What? Oh, yes. They're not too strong but they're fast and they attack in numbers." she made her way over to the alchemical lab she had set up on a crate. "You want some tea?"

"Yes." Evangeline replied. "How big are the groups they attack in?"

Yue had begun pouring various vials into a large rounded one. "Five to ten. Why do you ask?"

Evangeline said nothing, choosing instead to flip through one of the nearest books. It was in Latin. She did not actually read it. She just flipped the pages.

There was a flash of green light and a small bang before Yue turned around with two tin mugs. She offered one to Evangeline. The vampire took it and drank.

She lowered the mug. "This tastes like cinnamon and black licorice."

"Interesting. It tastes different to everyone." Yue took a sip from her own. "I taste raspberry and cucumber. Nooks says hers tastes like miso and shampoo."

Evangeline put the mug down. She no longer wanted anything to do with Yue's concoction. "Have you heard from the boy?"

Yue shook her head before taking a sip from her mug. "Not in the last few months. I don't even think he's been on this side of the gates in two years now."

Evangeline nodded and looked at the floor.

"I take it you haven't heard from him either?"" Yue asked.

"I'm still stuck here, am I not?" Evangeline snapped.

"Right, right." Yue took another sip from her mug. "How's life been?"

"I'm still stuck here." Evangeline huffily repeated.

"Oh." Yue took another sip. "So, nothing has changed, I take it?"

Evangeline looked up, across the room. "Some boy is teaching class 2-A again."

Yue nearly dropped her mug. "You're kidding."

Evangeline frowned. "No."

"Is he... you know?"

"He's not bad to look at, for someone his age, I suppose. But you're a little too old for that don't you think?"

"No. Not that! Is he a Mage?"

"What do you think, Ayase?"

"I mean... A Mage for a teacher isn't entirely strange for Mahora." Yue tapped her foot on the ground. "But another ten year old?"

"He's fourteen."

"He's what?" Yue exclaimed. She actually dropped her mug this time.

"This one failed four times before he graduated. He says he's talented at combative magic, but I've yet to see it." Evangeline picked up her mug and took a sip. "He apparently received the same diploma as the boy."

"That's unbelievable." Yue stopped and picked up her mug. "Does that happen often?"

"Not that I know of."

"Fascinating." Yue muttered. "Has he figure out who you are yet?"

"I gave him a bit of help with that." Evangeline took a sip of her tea. "He's asked me to train him. Much faster than Negi did. I'm trying to devise a suitable test to give him. That's why I'm down here."

Yue nodded. "I see."

"The boy seems to think there is trouble on the horizon for Mahora and wishes to be fully prepared for it."

"What do you think?"

"I think he's right." Evangeline stood. "But I'm not just going to hand him my help."

"He needs to prove himself?" Yue asked. "Like Negi-Sensei?"

"Well, yes." Evangeline smiled. "But this is also so much more fun."

"Well, if you're right about the school being in danger, I'm willing to help. I'm sure Nodoka and Haruna would be too." Yue said, producing a card from her jacket.

Her patio card.

Evangeline frowned. "The boy still hasn't picked a permanent partner?"

"Not yet."

The gears in her head started turning and her grin widened.

"Do you think that the mighty Paru-sama would be willing to take a vacation?"

Yue stares at Evangeline, confused. "I suppose... If you could convince her."

Evangeline turned to Yue.

"How would you two like to meet my new Sensei, Marten Caruthers?"


	10. Getting a Map

Junko found her teacher waiting for her outside of the girl's dormitory. Her teacher was sitting on a bench, along with his cat.

They had spent the last week practicing the whole "partner" thing after Junko's club meetings. So far, she hadn't been able to summon the sword pictured on her card, but she had gotten the hang of the heightened reflexes and strength aspects of the whole partnership. Anastasia had found them a field to practice in during the days on the edge of Mahora's campus. She sat on a tree stump and meowed her orders at them. Marten was mostly there to activate the contract and occasionally cast a few spells so that Junko would know what was going on during an actual fight.

Overall, the cat was a great instructor, but the girl thought she was getting frustrated with Junko's inability to call out her artifact.

She jogged forward, her equipment bag bumping up against her back, and stopped in front of them. Caruthers-Sensei stood as she approached and smoothed out his coat. Usually, they just met her at the field after she dropped her things off at the dormitory.

"Sensei… you waiting for me or something?"

Marten dug in his coat pocket as she spoke. "Ah… Uhm…" He fumbled with something and pulled out a piece of paper. Marten held it out to Junko.

"Evangeline gave me her test after class today…" He stated flatly. "It's not what we were… expecting."

Junko opened the paper.

"Meet me at the end of the newly discovered section of the library. You have until midnight tonight." Junko read aloud. "Evangeline."

Marten fidgeted with his tie.

"Wow. That's… some hell of a test." Junko muttered. "When do we go?"

"As soon as possible, but there's a slight… problem." Marten rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know how to get there."

Junko let out a small "Oh!" before she furrowed her brow. "That would be a problem, wouldn't it?"

Marten nodded. "From what I've heard, the under-workings of the library are a maze of rooms and corridors. We'd be lost for ages down there."

Junko frowned. "I'd like to not get lost in the library for the rest of my- hold on."

Her frown morphed into a grin.

"I know where we can get a map." Junko grinned.

Five minutes later, Junko was leading a nervous Marten through the girl's dorm. The teacher carried Anastasia in his arms, despite Junko's pleads to carry the cat herself. The cat had shot down each and every request.

"I'm not exactly sure I should be here." Marten said for the seventh time. The boy kept swiveling his head to and fro, as if he would be shot for being up here.

"Relax, would you?" Junko sighed. "No one but Yoshida would think about reporting you for being up here."

They took a corner and Junko picked up the pace. "I'm more worried about Masamura finding you and dragging you into her room to-"

"Let's not talk about that." Marten interrupted.

"Yeah. Okay." Junko stopped at her door and reached for her key. "We're here anyway." She placed her hand on the doorknob and the door swung inward.

"Oh. It's unlocked." Junko muttered and pushed the door open completely.

Rin looked up from her book at the edge of her bed.

And Chieko Yoshida herself was sitting at Junko's desk.

Both of them looked at Junko and then their eyes travelled to Marten standing behind her.

"Sensei?" Chieko looked confused.

Rin shot up and pointed at Junko. "AH HA!"

Junko groaned.

"Caruthers-Sensei." Chieko stood and gave him a short, stiff bow. "What are you doing here?" She gave Junko a hard look. "In the girl's dormitory."

Junko opened her mouth to explain, but Rin was quicker.

"Liar!" She shrieked in joy.

"I haven't said anything!" Junko shouted back.

"Girls, please." Marten squeaked. "As much as I love waiting outside…"

Junko let him past her inside and followed. She shut the door behind them. Chieko was right there, hands on her hips. Marten could practically see the steam coming from her ears. Her mouth was set in a grimace, teeth bared. The boy finally noticed the funny metal things on her teeth she sported.

What were they called again?

"Why is Sensei in your room?"

"He wanted to see Rin, Tin-teeth. Move it." Junko pushed the girl out of the way.

"Sato-san, I understand you're in the Library Exploration Club?"

Rin nodded. "Ah. Yes, Sensei. I am."

"We both are, Sensei." Chieko added.

"Yes. Sorry, Yoshida-san." Marten gave her a small nod of his head. "Did either if you happen to work on a map of the newly discovered levels of the library?"

Rin nodded. "I did, Sensei."

Marten smiled. "Ah. Wonderful. D… Do you think I could borrow a copy?"

"What for, if you don't mind me asking, Sensei?" Chieko crossed her arms over her chest.

"Rin, just…" Junko sighed. "Can you just give Sensei a copy of the map, please?"

"We can't just hand out a map to whoever asks, Arai. It's not allowed!" Chieko grumbled.

"Oh, will you just butt out Yoshida? Why are you even here?" Junko got out through her teeth.

"The library is closed and Sato invited me to work with her up here." Chieko jabbed Junko in the chest with a finger.

Junko shoved Chieko back and growled. "Well, it's my room too and I want you out."

"Why don't you shut your fat mouth before I shut it for you, Arai?"

"I'd like to see you try, Yoshida."

"Girls, please." Marten smiled as best he could. "There's no need to fight like this. I'm sure we can come to some sort of compro-"

Junko and Chieko both turned on him.

"STAY OUT OF IT!" The girls shouted in unison, stopping him mid-sentence.

Marten took a step back, a bit frightened, and the girls turned on each other. Junko managed to reach up and fish-hook the corner of Chieko's mouth and trying to shove her face away with one hand. The class representative had started pulling on Junko's hair and was punching her in the shoulder with the other hand. Each grunted and yelped as the upperhand travelled quickly between the two of them, back and forth.

Then the insults started.

"Stupid!"

"Control freak!"

"Half-breed!"

"Bitch!"

"Barbarian!"

"Metal mouth!"

It dawned on Marten that they were the two girls he had seen fighting on his first day. Rin, sitting at the edge of her bed, seemed totally at ease with the whole thing. She was even petting Anastasia, who had slipped out of Marten's grasp earlier.

Their fights had to be a common occurrence.

"I'll lend you a map, Sensei." Rin suddenly piped up.

Junko and Chieko suddenly lost interest in their fight and turned to Rin. Anastasia had made herself comfortable in the girl's lap, purring loudly.

"T-Thank you, Sato-san." Marten dipped his head in respect.

"On the condition that you let me go down there with you." Rin added with a smile.

"Wha…" Marten trailed off, staring at the girl wide-eyed.

Junko smirked. She figured this would happen. She and Chieko untangled themselves from each other. The class representative strode forward, standing between Marten and Rin.

"Sato, you can't be serious." Chieko objected, completely dumbstruck. "That… you know that's not allowed. He's not part of the Exploration club."

"He's a member of the faculty." Junko sniped.

"I think that hardly matters considering he can't grow facial hair yet." Chieko shot back.

"No, Sato. I'm not going down there. We just need to see a map for research." Marten fibbed. He wasn't very good at lying.

"Then why didn't you just ask one of the Club Supervisors for a map?" Rin grinned.

"Drop it, Sensei. She's smarter than she looks." Junko sighed.

Rin's grin only grew wider."

"Sato, as your class representative, I just can't allow you to do this. You know we're not permitted access to the lower levels of the library!" Chieko stamped her foot. "You could get yourself thrown out of the club or even expelled for this sort of thing!"

"Yoshida. Shut up for once." Junko muttered. "This is really important."

"Besides, the ruins under the library are filled with traps. You'll need someone who can spot them and keep you safe. And I know what every single trap they've got down there looks like. I've been studying them since I joined the club."

Marten looked to Junko, wanting some sort of answer from her. She knew Sato-san better than he did after all. Junko finally met his gaze and just gave him a shrug.

"She's got a point."

Chieko's head swiveled to each of them in disbelief. "Are any of you listening to me? Not only does this go against dozens of school rules and club policies, but it's incredibly dangerous! You could be killed!" Chieko pointed at Junko. "I mean, I'd expect this from Ghengis Khan here, but from you Sato?"

Her gaze suddenly narrowed at Marten. "And you, Sensei. How could you drag your students with you into a death trap like this?"

Junko groaned. Chieko never let up. "Shut. Up. Yoshida. He's part of the faculty. He's our teacher. I'm sure that makes everything alright."

"HE'S FOURTEEN!" Chieko shouted. The girl threw her arms out at Marten. "That's younger than a few girls in the class!"

"Just stow it already, Yoshida. This is important." Junko threw her bag onto the floor. "Don't try to stop us or I'll tell everyone about why you couldn't go to the overnight trip to Kyoto last year."

Chieko opened her mouth as if to object, but Junko gave her the best evil glare she could manage. Chieko's mouth clamped shut and she began to hastily gather her things and shove them into her book bag.

"I can't believe you two." She huffed, slamming the last book into her bag. Without another word, Chieko stormed out of the room. Junko pushed the door shut with her foot.

"Good riddance." She muttered.

"So when are you going?" Rin goaded Anastasia off her lap with a gentle tap before she stood.

Marten gave Junko another apprehensive glance.

She shrugged again.

"T-Tonight, Sato-san. We need to depart as soon as possible." Marten picked up Anastasia as she got back to him.

Rin let out a low whistle. "Woah. Okay. That's… pretty soon." She tapped her chin with a finger as she looked around the room, apparently lost in thought.

She suddenly brightened and nodded a few time. "Okay. Okay. Yeah. That's fine. I'll need to change and gather a few things and make sure that everything's accurate on the map before we go."

Junko nodded. "I'd like to change too."

Marten glanced between the two of them before nodding. "Alright. I need some time to gather some equipment and I suppose I should change as well."

Junko opened the door for him. "We'll meet at the bridge to the library in two hours, alright? It should be dark enough to sneak in then."

Marten nodded and backed out of the room. "Two hours? Is… Is there any way you can be there sooner?"

Junko blinked. "No."

Rin smiled. "We're teenage girls, Sensei. We take forever to get ready."

Junko shut the door on Marten's helpless look. She stretched and yawned. "Wish we had time for me to take a nap first. I'm beat."

Rin giggled.

"What's so funny?" Junko asked.

Rin covered her mouth with one hand.

"And I was worried this year would be boring."


	11. Full Moon, No Life

Marten tapped his staff against the ground. He did not use the staff often, as it was a pain to carry everywhere and… well frankly, made him stand out like a zebra in a lion's cage. But with Evangeline lurking somewhere in the depths of the library, he had decided that maybe, just this once, it was worth the difficulty. The staff was a bit taller than Marten and topped with a deep blue orb, clutched within its gnarled grip. He was not sure what the orb was made from, considering this was a family-hand-me-down sort of thing, but it made the staff top heavy and was good for hitting things with.

Oh and it had the added bonus of super-charging some of his spells.

Marten had not brought much along the lines of clothing, so he still wore most of his teacher's ensemble. He had left the coat at home and had rolled the sleeves of his shirt up. He had donned a red cloak, mostly so Anastasia could ride in the hood of it. Already, the cat was curled up and snoozing. She claimed she needed to save her energy.

He was still trying to come up with some reasonable explanation for his attire and the staff for Rin. So far, nothing came to mind.

Marten looked up at the moon.

It was full.

Which he did not like.

When he looked back down, Rin and Junko were jogging over the hump of the bridge. The girls had changed like they said they would. Junko had on a Mahora Uniform track jacket and denim shorts while Rin had pulled on pants and the same track jacket. Both girls carried their bags. Marten could see a coil of rope hanging from Rin's bag and a long cloth bundle was attached to Junko's.

Behind them, keeping up as best as she could, was Chieko. The girl hadn't changed out of her uniform, but had a similar bag set-up to Rin and a sour look on her face.

Junko reached him first, scowling.

"She won't go away." She muttered.

"Keep her, Young One. We don't have time to argue." Anastasia purred into his ear.

Marten did his best to smile pleasantly as Chieko and Rin joined them. He was confident that he would be able to protect Junko and himself, since she knew he was a mage. Adding Rin simply meant he would have to be careful about using his magic in front of her.

Adding Chieko to the group was going to make it nearly impossible to use his magic without spilling the beans.

"Yoshida-san. Are you coming as well?" Marten gave the girl a tiny nod of his head and a nervous look.

"Yes." She stated coldly, glaring at Junko. "Someone has to keep Sato and this barbarian in line."

"I assure you that-"

"I'm going, Sensei." Chieko rounded on him. "And if any of us gets hurt while we're down there because of you, I am going straight to the Headmaster to get you fired." Chieko barked.

Marten took a step away from her.

"Uhm… All… Alright then." Marten tightened his grip on the staff. Rin was looking at it curiously already. "We should hurry then. Sato-san, you have the map?"

Rin snapped back into reality and nodded furiously. "Oh! Yes. Right! Yep. I've got it."

"What are you doing down in the sub-levels of the library, Sensei?" Chieko asked, hands crossed over her chest. "You must have a good reason for going down here and taking students with you."

"He's looking for something." Junko answered for him. Marten shot her a hasty look.

"Looking for what, exactly?"

"A way to get you to shut your stupid metal-filled mouth." Junko replied, flatly. Before Chieko could retort and start another fight, Junko walked off. Rin followed her.

Marten turned to Chieko and offered his best smile. Might as well try to be civil.

Chieko just glared back and stomped off after the girls.

Marten sighed. Okay. No use being civil. This trip was already off to a wonderful start.

"Anastasia, I'm starting to think this is going to be horrible."

"Have confidence, young one." Anastasia purred.

Marten groaned and started after the girls. Anastasia was obviously not going to be any help tonight.

There were waiting for him at the Library entrance. Rin was standing awkwardly between Junko and Chieko, who were both trying much too hard to ignore the other one. Rin gave Marten a smile and a look that clearly meant "Help me".

"Are we really going in through the front entrance?" Marten asked.

"What? Oh." Rin scratched her head and looked up. "Well, unless you feel like swimming, yes."

"And I don't feel like swimming. " Junko hastily added.

"Well, isn't there a side door or a back entrance or something?" Marten looked around.

They were the only ones here.

"There are, but like I said, we'd have to go for a bit of a swim to reach them, Sensei." Rin explained. She looked around after Marten and frowned. "To be honest, I thought we'd be caught half-way across the bridge by campus security."

Chieko nodded. "I expected that as well, Sato."

Junko pushed open one of the doors, silently. She gave the group a glance before slipping inside.

Rin giggled. "Oh this is going to be so fun." She whispered to the two before slipping inside.

Chieko just rolled her eyes and walked in after Rin.

Marten looked around again. Not a soul was in sight. No humans. No animals. Nothing. There wasn't a sound at all either. Just… no life at all.

"Anastasia, where is everyone?"

The cat popped her head out of his hood. "I have been wondering that as well, young one."

Marten's hands squeezed his staff tighter. "Could… Evangeline have something to do with that?"

"It is possible the Dark one created some sort of barrier around the island to ensure privacy for your test. The three young ladies must have slipped past it because you were with them." Anastasia turned her gaze to the moon.

"Around the whole island? That's an insane amount of power." Marten hissed.

"The moon may be granting our foe increased strength."

That was not what he wanted to hear.

"How am I going to fight someone who can ward an entire island and protect three of my students at the same time?" Marten could feel terror taking over. "Two of them don't even know I'm a mage!"

"The vampire has not said anything about fighting you for your apprenticeship. The test may simply be reaching her at this location. There are dangers on the way, are there not?"

Junko's head popped out from behind the open door.

"Come on, Sensei!"

Marten nodded and summoned his courage back. If the girls could do this, so could he. With a nod, he followed Junko into the library and closed the door behind him.

Marten had never been in Marhora's library before tonight. He now instantly regretted never coming here. The sheer size of what he could see from the entry-way was astounding. The building went up several floors and there were spiral staircases leading up and up. There were shelves as far as the eye could see and every single one of them was jam-packed with books.

His jaw dropped.

"This is… amazing." Marten muttered, his head still turned in excitement. "This is larger than the Library at the Academy at Wales."

Marten grinned like a child on Christmas.

"This is nothing. Wait until we get into the ruins, Sensei. "Rin laughed. "Then you can get excited."

"Why isn't anyone here?" Chieko took a few steps forward. "I don't even see any of the university students."

Rin looked around. "You're right… Those guys practically live here too."

Marten was still staring at the sheer size of the place with an open mouth. He only snapped back into reality when Junko put her hand on his shoulder.

"We're wasting time. It's not on this floor."

Marten put on his best serious face and nodded. Evangeline was waiting for them in the catacombs. That's where they had to go.

Rin waved for the group to follow her as she ventured forth into the library.

"The new area was found on the fifth basement, in section D." Rin explained as they walked. Chieko had hurried ahead to fall in line with Rin, leaving Junko and Marten behind them. "We should be able to get there in two hours if we keep a brisk pace."

Two hours. Marten cringed. That would bring it to just after ten when they got to the entrance. How long would it take to get to the end of that? There was no way they'd get there in time. No! Marten shook his head. No use sinking into defeat now. They were already here! It was just a long walk ahead, right?

Right.

Marten tightened his grip on the staff one more time. With a determined chin, he followed the girls through the stacks of books. He very much still wanted to stop everything and just bury himself in these pages. He was scared. Of course he was. Who wouldn't be scared about facing down a vampire?

Junko held an arm out to slow Marten down. Once Chieko and Rin had slipped further ahead, she turned to him. "So, if you have to keep the whole magic thing a secret, how exactly are we doing this with these two here?" They kept walking, but Junko whispered only loud enough for Marten to hear.

"I… I haven't exactly come to a solution for that problem." Marten bit his bottom lip. He had forgotten all about that at the sight of the books in the library. Now it was propelled right to the front of his mind again.

"I'll have to get back to you on that."

Junko frowned at him.

They both bumped into Rin and Chieko, not noticing the two girls had stopped.

At another large set of doors in fact.

Rin stepped forward, so that Junko and her weren't crammed together. Chieko shoved Marten away at the same time.

"Watch where you're going, Sensei." She growled.

Marten gave her a sheepish grin. "S-sorry."

"Okay, so behind these doors are the stairs that lead into the ruins." Rin pointed out. She turned to face the group and Chieko followed suit. "After this, things will get dangerous. Parts of the lower levels are filled with traps to discourage thieves and other parts are so old they're just crumbling away." Rin placed a hand on the door and patted it.

"We only have to go down a few floors to the new section, but don't touch anything unless Yoshida or I tell you to."

Chieko crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Got it?" Rin asked.

"Got it." Junko gave a thumbs up.

"I understand." Marten gave a quick nod.

Rin grinned. "Good! Now hurry! I'm way too excited to stand here like idiots any longer. Let's go."


	12. Spilling the Beans

True to Rin's words, the lower levels of the library were filled with danger. Certain rooms could only be travelled through on a certain path. Others simply had sections of the floor that had crumbled away or fallen through on several floors, leaving deadly pits for any unlucky adventurer or student that happened across them. By far, the worst rooms were the ones that appeared to just hold rows and rows of bookshelves.

With rare books.

Marten had almost grabbed a tome he had only heard stories about. One he had been told was lost to the ages. Rin's warning only echoed out as his fingers touched the spine of the leather bound book and an arrow thudded into the shelf next to his head.

Chieko scolded him for being so careless. Junko snapped at her for berating him.

The fights between these two girls slowed them down even more that navigating these rooms.

But rivaling these trap filled rooms were the natural caverns that connected some of them. A few were actually part of the rooms themselves. The girls and Marten actually stopped to marvel at a roaring waterfall in one room. Anastasia practically had to claw the back of Marten's neck to get him to get the group moving again.

"And here we are." Rin finally announced.

The entrance to this newly discovered section was no more than a hole in the wall that was about three feet across. It was pitch black beyond that.

Chieko frowned. "Did anyone thing to bring a flashlight?"

Junko and Rin groaned in unison. Marten took that as a sign for no. Chieko's gaze travelled to him, her arms in their natural position, crossed over her chest.

"And you, Sensei?"

Marten gave a sheepish smile. The idea of a flashlight would have never crossed his mind. Why would he need one? If he needed light, he could simply create it. The boy rubbed the back of his neck as he avoided looking at Chieko.

The glass representative shook her head and slung the back off her back. She dug through it and produced three small flashlights. She tossed one to Rin and another to Marten.

"Hey. What about me?" Junko demanded.

"What about you?" Chieko shot back. She slung the bag over her back again and clicked her light on. Junko growled as she walked past her and into the dark.

Marten handed the girl his flashlight. "Here. I'll be fine."

"You sure?" Junko asked.

"Yeah."

"You two are too cute." Rin giggled. She turned her flashlight on and headed after Chieko.

"So we need to keep those two safe, huh? Still haven't figured out the whole using magic thing?" Junko asked, her gaze glued to the darkness.

"Yes and no." Marten muttered. He was glad she wasn't looking at him. Rin's comment had turned his face a bright red.

"Would it be so bad if they know about it?" Junko asked. "I mean, you already let me in on this whole crazy world of yours." She pulled the long cloth bundle from the side of her bag.

The color drained from Marten's face.

"The punishment for revealing the existence of magic is permanent transfiguration into an ermine." Marten stated, almost robotically. His body quivered once at the thought. "I would prefer as little as possible of my students to know about my abilities."

"Oh." Junko unraveled her cloth bundle to reveal a thing sword, still in its sheath. "Fair enough."

The girl snapped the sword on her belt. She glanced at Marten, who was staring at it. "It's just a practice blade, so it's a bit dull. Best I could get on short notice. But, we're not looking to kill anyone, right?"

"That would depend on what the dark one's test is, child." Anastasia purred from Marten's hood.

"You brought your cat?" Junko frowned.

"She insisted." Marten muttered before frowning.

"But this… it's dangerous." Junko gripped the hilt of her sword. "I mean I brought a sword. We're fighting a damn vampire."

"Girl." Anastasia poked her head out of her hiding spot. "I will be fine. You are the young master should worry about the two girls who you let wander off alone in the general direction of a vampire."

Marten Junko exchanged looks before taking off down the corridor after Rin and Chieko.

The girls were waiting for them at the end of the hall. Rin was studying the map by her flashlight while Chieko pointed her own down the staircase ahead of them.

"What did we miss?" Junko asked as they jogged up to the pair.

"Nothing." Rin muttered. "We still have a few floors to go until the end of this section. Where were we headed Sensei?"

"Evangeline said she'd be in the last room." Marten replied without thinking.

It didn't hit him how idiotic his previous statement was until Chieko's flashlight blinded him.

"McDowell-san is down here?"

Rin looked up from her map. "Wait… the shrimp in the back row?"

Marten glanced at Junko.

Chieko turned her flashlight on her. "Did you know about…" The class representative trailed off into stunned silence as she spotted her sword.

"Junko, why do you have a sword?" Rin quietly asked.

The awkward silence trailed on for what seemed eons.

"We're going to fight McDowell." Junko finally answered.

"Fight her? Why? She's like… ten!" Chieko demanded.

Marten gave Junko his best "shut-up" look he could muster.

She ignored it.

"She's a vampire." Junko said, matter-of-factly. Marten shut his eyes and let out a small groan.

Rin giggled. "Funny."

Chieko was scowling as she stomped forward and grabbed Junko by her coat collar. Junko growled at her.

"Let me go, Yoshida."

"Not until you tell me why you dragged Sato-san and I down here with you!"

"I just did! Besides, I don't remember asking you to come with us, dumbass."

Chieko shook her. "Well someone had to keep your fat ass out of trouble!"

"You really want to call the girl holding a sword fat?"

"Well if the shoe fits! Or I guess in your case, doesn't fit!"

"BE QUIET!"

Chieko and Junko both fell silent at the same time. In unison, they turned towards Marten.

More specifically, to the black cat perched on his shoulder.

Anastasia glared at the two of them. "You are both acting like children! Stop it this instant!"

Chieko let go of Junko automatically as she stumbled back. The girl raised a finger slowly at Anastasia as her bottom lip quivered. "Wh-Wh-What did th-tha-"

Marten groaned.

"D-D-Did you c-cat just t-t-talk, Sensei?" Rin asked quietly, staring wide-eyed at Anastasia.

"Yes. And I was trying to keep that secret." He prodded the cat in the side with a finger. She batted it away, not breaking eye contact with Junko.

"That is a talking cat. That cat is talking." Chieko babbled. The girl seized the ends of her braids and pulled on them before making a low pitched whine.

Anastasia ignored her. "Miss Arai, I expect better of the Ministra Magi of Master Marten."

Junko looked down at the floor and shuffled her feet awkwardly. She did this often during their practice sessions, when Anastasia barked something at her that was along the lines of disappointment. "Sorry, Anna." She muttered.

"Do not say sorry. Just do not let it happen again." She finished. The cat turned to Chieko, who was now hiding behind Rin.

"And you, Miss Yoshida. Behave yourself or you will find yourself on the trek back out of these catacombs alone." The cat's eyes narrowed. "Do I make myself clear?"

Chieko just stared in horror at the cat.

Rin, on the other hand, looked absolutely giddy. She strode forward, leaving Chieko cringing alone, and started petting Anastasia again. "I knew you were lying about something, Junko!" She turned to the girl, grinning as wide as humanly possible. "I just never thought it would be such a whopper of a lie!"

"Yes. I was lying. Are you happy now?" Junko rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you have no idea." Rin scratched Anastasia under the chin, causing the cat to purr in appreciation. "I was just sort of hoping you were hiding that you had kissed Sensei or something, but a talking cat? This is like Christmas came on my birthday and it gave me the ability to make candy with my mind!"

Marten and Junko exchanged looks again. Luckily it was dark and Rin was too focused on Anastasia to notice that they were both blushing.

"S-S-Sensei… What Arai s-said earlier… M-McDowell is actually a v-v-vampire?" Chieko suddenly chimed in. She took a step closer to the group, still nervously watching Anastasia.

Marten nodded, frowning. "Unfortunately, yes. That is true, Yoshida-san."

Chieko bit her bottom lip. "So… you're… going to kill her?"

Junko groaned. "No. He's going to fight her to prove that he's worth training. The shrimp is not only a vampire but like the greatest dark mage like… ever." Junko scratched her nose as she explained it. "Sensei is a mage. He can use magic. He wants her to train him so he can defend the school or something. I wasn't really listening too much when he explained. The whole talking cat thing just got dropped on me too."

All eyes were on Marten again. Rin eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her skull. Chieko looked at Marten as if he were on fire.

He sighed and held a palm out.

"Ab aeterno, posse ad esse. Ardescat." He flatly recited.

A small ball of flame flickered to life and hovered over his open palm. Rin and Chieko stared at it in wonder. Rin let out a low, long whistle.

"See? Magic." Junko sniffed.

"And I was worried this year would be boring." Rin laughed. "And I get a magical teacher."

"Yes. I believe these two girls believe us now, Miss Arai. Now, time is wasting. Young one." Anastasia purred, before climbing back into Marten's hood. "You three listen to Master Marten and do everything he says. He will keep you save."

The three girls nodded and stepped to the side so that Marten could lead now. The boy took a deep breath and held his palm out, using the fire in his hand to guide them through the darkened catacombs.

He really wished Anastasia was right about keeping them safe. That was one parent teacher conference he hoped to avoid.

And with that, the group set off into the darkness, towards the Vampire.


	13. Mighty Paru Sama

Yue suddenly looked up from her book at the doorway to the room. She had taken guard on the top of her table, right in front of where her campsite once stood. Her head turned to Evangeline.

"They're close."

Evangeline shoved herself off her back from the lounged position she had taken on one of the bookshelves. He gaze settled on Yue and she frowned. "Close? I thought you'd be able to tell me when he was an hour away."

Yue frowned back and closed her book. "He must have found and disabled a few of my wards. They would have alarmed me earlier." She stood and tossed the book onto the table. "We still have a few minutes."

"Ugh. Should have just done it myself." Evangeline mumbled as she stretched. The vampire jumped down from her perch and fastened her cloak around her neck. "Very well. Is Haruna ready?"

Yue glanced at the balcony. "She hasn't come down from upstairs yet." She dusted off her jacket and set off across the room. "I'll check on the circles."

Evangeline nodded as she left. "Make it snappy. We apparently don't have much time now."

Yue waved at her half-heartedly to show she had heard and hurried off to the nearest shimmering circle of light. There were three in the room in total, but two were hidden at the back of the room behind the bookshelves. Each held ten of the shadow creatures that Yue had been fighting off during her stay here. Evangeline had simply lured them in and trapped them in barriers to use for later. The masks they wore had no expressions, but she was quite sure they were livid with the whole situation.

As Yue approached, they huddled closer against the barrier's edge next to her. Their shapeless, shadowy bodies suddenly sprouted twisted, sharp looking black limbs which they struck at the magical barrier with. Each limb came within an inch of Yue's face before the barrier stopped them. The woman stared at them for a moment, before letting of a sigh of relief and checking on the inscriptions on the floor.

Evangeline watched the beings continue to uselessly attack the barrier for a moment more before floating up to the second floor.

She landed daintily on the stone ledge of the balcony. Haruna glanced up from her sketchbook as the vampire joined her. The woman adjusted her glasses before taking her feet off the table in front of her and sitting up properly.

"Ooooh. They're coming?" She asked, closing her book.

Evangeline nodded and hopped down. "They're close. The boy apparently found a few of Yue's alarms and disabled them. We have five minutes."

Haruna threw her head back and laughed. "Finally! Some action!" The woman shot up from her chair and produced a card from her breast pocket. Her pactio card. "I mean you invite me down here to meet a new mage teacher wunderkind and then I sit on my ass day after day after day."

The card gave off a bright light as Haruna activated it's powers. She was suddenly holding a wing shaped feather quill and an elaborately decorated sketchbook and had donned an apron and beret decorated with wings that matched her quill. The Imperium Graphices. Her artifact.

"So what do you need me to draw? A giant golem for him to fight? Twenty copies of you to ride into battle with him? Give me anything. I am soooooo booooored." Haruna opened her notebook and assumed a ready position.

Evangeline combed a hand slowly through her blonde hair as she strolled past Haruna.

"Nothing yet."

Haruna nearly dropped her artifact. She stared at the vampire in disbelief. "W-What? Nothing?"

"Yet." Evangeline added. "You're here for backup."

Haruna nearly threw her quill and sketchbook to the ground. "Backup? BACKUP? You've got flat-chest down there making sure we've got these Geisha-masked freaks in check and drawing up incantations and you make me the freakin' backup?"

"I heard that!" Yue called from the first floor.

Haruna shook her head. "Evangeline, I was sort of thinking that I could actually do something since I came all the way down here for you."

"You are. You're the back up. You're making sure none of those other things are getting in here while he's taking his test." Evangeline explained. She sat down on the stone balcony railing. "I was going to duel him, but the boy went and got himself a Ministra Magi." She stretched again. "I'm not sure how many more he's got. I just know about the one. And I'm not looking to kill any of them."

Haruna grinned. "A pactio already? Do go on."

Evangeline groaned softly. "Ignoring that. But yes, I devised a new test for him. Simply, he enters. Yue and you leave, ward the entrance and keep any more of these shadow freaks from showing up and he fights the ones I have trapped in here. He survives, I train him. He gets beaten to a pulp, I don't train him and I beat him every day after class."

"What? Why?"

"For fun." Evangeline sniffed.

"Okay. But couldn't you just do all that yourself? The whole keeping them from getting in here?" Haruna scratched her head. "Why use Yue and I?"

"I'll be busy watching the boy. Besides, why are you complaining? Didn't you jump at the chance for this? A little action? A little excitement?" Evangeline gave her the trademark smirk.

"Well… Yes, but I won't even-" Haruna began to object.

"Might want to get down there. It's almost time." Evangeline cut her off and toppled backwards, off the edge and to the ground below.

She slowed down until she hovered a foot above the ground, flipped over and landed next to Yue.

"Barriers are secure. You should be able to dispel them with a snap of your fingers. One at a time. No problem."

"Excellent." Evangeline muttered. "Are you ready?"

Yue opened her coat to reveal a belt of vials hanging from her hip. She pulled one off it and in one motion, uncorked it and downed the whole thing in one swig. She slipped the empty vial back into the belt. "Yep. Just waiting on Saggy up there." Yue indicated to the balcony staircase that Haruna was even now jogging down.

She joined the two girls, panting. Evangeline raised an eyebrow as Haruna doubled over, he hands on her knees.

"I'm… ready… now… Ladies." She wheezed.

"Good." Evangeline turned to the door. "Now we wait."

"Yue… How… many girls… you think he…. you know…" Haruna gasped out. She waved a hand and let out a groan, giving up halfway through the sentence and leaving it up to them to figure out the rest.

Yue hauled her up by the shoulders. "That wasn't that long of a run, Haruna. You must really be out of shape." She laughed softly.

"Shut… your… eeeengh." Haruna feebly attempted to smack Yue, but her hand came about a foot short before falling to her side. The smaller woman rolled her eyes and pulled another small vial off her belt. She uncorked it and waved it in Haruna's face.

"Drink." Yue commanded.

Haruna downed it instantly.

She dropped the vial to the ground and coughed heavily.

"UGH! That tastes like burnt coffee and hot sauce!"

"Tastes different to everyone." Yue muttered, smiling.

"Bleagh. Ugh. Yuck." Haruna spit on the ground.

"What were you saying again about the kid teacher?"

"Oh! Right! Pactios. How many do you think he's got?"

Yue shrugged. "Beats me. If Negi was any indication, he probably just has the one."

"Yeah, but this kid already challenged Evangeline to train him. Negi-kun didn't get to that until after Kyoto." Haruna adjusted her glasses. "He moves faster than Negi."

"He's also fourteen. He probably pieced together that Evangeline would train him if she trained Negi. And at that age, I think he'd be a little more cautious about asking the girls of his class to kiss him."

"Shows how much you know about men. I think he'd be more for it at that age." Haruna chuckled.

"Will the two of you be quiet?" Evangeline hissed. "It doesn't matter. The test is still the same."

Yue and Haruna both opened their mouths to object, but the doors of the entrance slowly creaked open.

Evangeline turned back to them in time to see Marten, followed by three girls from their class enter. They all instantly spotted Evangeline and the two women and strode across the room. The girls took their bags off and held them loosely at their sides. Evangeline noted the sword on the shortest girl's hip.

"I see you brought help, Sensei. They can put their bags anywhere."

The girls dropped them at their feet.

"S-So did you." He stammered out. "Arai. Yoshida. Sato. This is the real Evangeline A.K. McDowell, vampire."

Evangeline let out a throaty chuckle, holding a hand to her chest. "An introduction. How lovely. Oh, where are my manners? Sensei Caruthers. Girls. Meet Yue Ayase and Haruna Saotome."

Yue held up a hand for a half-hearted wave. "Yo."

Haruna gave Marten a wink. "Hey cutie."

Evangeline dropped her hand. "They were just leaving to make sure we aren't disturbed."

Yue and Haruna, who let out a groan of dissatisfaction, walked across the room and past Marten and his students. Yue turned just outside of the entryway and crouched. Haruna blew the group a kiss, most likely intended for Marten alone as Yue erected a magical barrier. With that, they took off into the darkness.

Marten turned back slowly, but stopped when he noticed the barrier holding the shadow beings. He quickly turned back to Evangeline. "Two of my students here don't fight."

"Keep them safe then or you can leave. Last chance. You can forget this whole thing." Evangeline offered.

Marten glanced at the girls. The one with the sword placed a hand on his shoulder. "No sense in coming down here for nothing, Sensei."

Marten nodded and turned back to Evangeline. "No."

"Very well." Evangeline floated slowly back to the balcony again, causing the two girls still staring at her to gasp in surprise. She landed gently on the railing again.

She snapped her fingers.

The barrier hold the first group of the shadow beings dropped. They instantly surged to the closest living things to them, twisted limbs at the ready.

"Keep your team safe and destroy these things and I'll train you, boy." Evangeline called out.

"And do try to make this interesting."


	14. Marten's Test

Marten started muttering something under his breath, his gaze forward, focused on the pack of these creatures that were rushing at them. They were vaguely humanoid, with no visible legs. They seemed to be made entirely of shadows that ate the light around them. The only things that seemed solid about them were the weird, twisted arms that they had sprouted and the white, blank masks at the top of them. Junko drew her sword and stepped between the leader of the pack and Marten. If they intended to hurt him, they would have to go through her first it seemed.

Rin and Chieko stayed in their spot, about ten feet behind them.

Marten paused for a split second, before chanting again. Chieko turned back to Junko and was shocked to find the girl glowing. Marten's chanting got faster and faster. Rin clung to Chieko's side, cowering behind her.

"Rin! Yoshida! Stay behind Sensei!" Junko yelled out. The first shadow reached them and one of its twisted limbs streaked out at Junko's head. The girl neatly side-stepped it and brought the blade down on the white mask that seemed to be the head of the creature.

It crumbled beneath it and the body of the creature simply vanished.

Chieko watched in amazement as Junko placed herself automatically between Marten and the next shadow creature.

Marten finished his chanting and Junko instantly dropped to one knee in front of him. Marten held that weird staff out and there was a flash of light and a sudden heat.

Chieko lifted a hand to shield her eyes, but still managed to see the seven balls of fire erupt from the tip of his staff. They thudded into the shadows, but only one of the fireballs hit a mask. The white thing burned up and its body vanished. The other ones caught the fire in their shadowy bodies and kept moving.

"Aim for their faces!" Junko yelled.

Marten started chanting again as two streaked towards him. Junko popped up again, sword out.

"Oh no you don't!" She shouted, thrusting the blade into one of the creature's masks. The tip of the blade punctured the forehead of the mask and the shade twitched violently and vanished. Junko whipped her sword, flinging the stuck mask off, and turned to the other attacker. It had already swerved around her and raised an arm at Rin and Chieko. The class representative could not bring herself to close her eyes as the arm, morphed into a vague blade shape, swung at them. She clung to Rin and both girls shrieked in terror.

The arm stopped a few inches from her face. She glanced over to her teacher who, while not facing her, held an open palm at them. The creature swung at them again. The arm stopped in the same place, as if it hit some sort of wall. A weird rippled light effect echoed around the black blade.

Marten grunted.

It lifted the arm again, but Junko cracked her sword against its mask, caving it in.

Marten swung his hand forward and started muttering again. He and Junko stepped back as three more of them closed in.

None of them had their gazes fixed on Marten or Junko. They were headed straight for the other two girls.

Marten swing his arm in a semi-circle in front of him and the creatures slammed into that barrier of his, one foot away. He brought the end of his staff down on the face of one of them, crunching the mask into pieces.

Junko quickly dispatched the other two in a similar manner.

The last three went straight for their teacher's turned back, arms raised.

"Sensei!" Rin shouted.

Marten wheeled around, already muttering again. One arm came down and he managed to step out of the way.

Another ripped through his shirt sleeve at the shoulder, cutting into his flesh. Marten hissed in pain.

Junko managed to step in and knock the last appendage out of the way with her sword.

Marten slammed his staff against the ground and Chieko shielded her eyes again from that same flash of light and heat from before.

When she opened them again, none of their attackers were in sight. Her gaze instantly turned to their teacher, who was clutching his injured shoulder. Junko was instantly at his side, attempting to push his hand out of the way.

"Let me see it." She said.

"I'm fine, Arai-san." He muttered, clamping down on his shoulder harder.

"Sensei, I see injuries all the time in club. Let me see it." She said, a bit more sternly.

"It's fine. I'm okay. " Marten said again. "Drop it, Arai."

Junko frowned and turned away. "Okay. Okay. Sheesh."

Rin finally opened her eyes again and looked around. She tugged on Chieko's blazer sleeve. "Chieko. It's done?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper. She was frightened obviously. Chieko was too, but Rin was not handling it as well as she was.

"L-Looks like it." She whispered back. Her knees were knocking together out of fright.

Marten turned to the vampire floating in the air and thumped his staff against the ground. "There! Done! Now will you train me?"

Evangeline cackled. The vampire floated above them, her arms crossed over her chest. "Very good boy! Only let yourself get hit once." She lifted both arms and held them out at her sides.

Chieko frowned.

"Now for round two." She said with a grin. "Let's see how you fare against twice that number."

Evangeline snapped with both hands.

Marten hissed and spread his legs, assuming a battle stance. Junko moved in front of him, holding her sword out in front of her. Rin clung tighter to Chieko, whimpering.

And then she saw them.

More of the shadow men. They stepped out from the bookshelves at the opposite side of the room. Some clambered over them and perched there. None of them moved forward. They fanned out into a semi-circle around them and just waited. Marten reached behind him and motioned for the two girls to step closer.

Chieko could not move.

Marten grunted. Junko let out a ragged breath and lifted her sword again.

"Yoshida. Sato." Marten called out. "Get closer to us."

Rin let go of Chieko and ran forward. She stopped right behind Junko and crouched down. But Chieko could not get her legs to move. Each felt like it was made of lead.

Marten looked over his shoulder. "Yoshida! Move closer!" He shouted, waving a hand at her to move.

Chieko gave her teacher a helpless look. "I… I can't."

Marten bit his lip. He glanced back to the shadow beings and then to her again. He turned his whole body slightly. "Arai. Keep Sato-san safe. Two seconds."

Junko kept her gaze forward on their foes. "Better be quick, Sensei."

Marten turned on his heel and dashed towards Chieko. The shadow beings still did not move.

It was like they were waiting.

Chieko reached out with one of her hands to Marten. The boy seized it in his own free hand, pulling her to him. Cheiko nearly bumped into him. This was a completely new side of Marten. Normally he was so unsure of himself in class. The boy stuttered during the lessons and hid behind his book when anyone asked him a personal question. Now he was being… heroic. Chieko stared at his face, mere inches from her own, which felt incredibly hot at the moment.

And the barrier at the door fell, just as the two women from earlier, Ayase and Saotome, rushed in. Chieko watched as Satome ran right past them, to Junko and Rin.

Ayase crouched at the door and created another barrier.

"Evangeline! We've got trouble!" She shouted.

None of the shadow beings moved.

"What? Trouble?"

Ayase let out a shriek of surprise as stumbled back. Chieko turned back to the doorway.

Every inch of the barrier was taken up by those white mask faces.

"Those things swarmed us. There's got to be at least a hundred of them out there."

Evangeline hissed loudly from her spot above them.

"And there's this… really, really big one too." She concluded.

Ayase backed up slowly until she joined Marten and Chieko.

Evangeline tossed her cloak back and smirked.

"My barrier won't hold for much longer, Evangeline!" Ayase yelled up.

The vampire turned her gaze on Marten.

"Hope you aren't tired, Sensei." She grinned.

"Your test just got a lot more interesting."


	15. Tonitrua Malleus

Chieko watched Yue stumble back as the shadow beings hit her barrier again. Marten was already muttering under his breath, readying another spell it seemed. She stood closer to him, not wanting to be out in the open when that barrier did eventually fall.

The cat, Anastasia, poked her head out of Marten's hood and stared at Chieko. She stared back for a few moments before the cat spoke.

"Stay close to Master Marten and Miss Ayase, Miss Yoshida." She purred, rather calm about the whole impending doom lurking just beyond that door.

Chieko nodded slowly.

Yue glanced over at the cat poking its head out of Marten's hood. She raised an eyebrow at the boy before facing the barrier again. "Thought they only got turned into ermines…"

The cat turned her gaze to Junko, standing with Haruna, behind them. "Miss Arai. Miss Saotome, please protect Miss Sato. She is much better at scratching than Marten is."

Junko nodded, her eyes not leaving the barrier.

"I was already planning on it." She called back. The girl lifted her sword and assumed the same ready position from earlier.

"I'll watch the kid's backs." Haruna did not look up from her sketchbook as her quill flew across it. A pair of rather plain looking women, holding large kite shields, materialized out of nowhere next to them. Chieko nearly bumped into Marten as she watched them lift the shields and move next to Rin.

More magic? How many of these people were there?

Haruna did not look up from her sketchbook. "Looks like I got my wish for some action, Yue!"

"Seems like it." The woman called back, as she reached into her jacket. Out came a rather plain looking card. Yue stared at it for a moment, a frown on her lips, before she muttered something under her breath. The card seemed to glow, then let out a bright flash of light that made Chieko look away.

The woman brandished a tall slender staff, rather different from Sensei Caruther's heavy looking one, and was wearing some sort of oversized witch's hat. Her gaze, steely, never left the barrier. "Kid, what was your name?"

The shadow beings hit the barrier again.

"Yoshida, Ch-Chieko." She whimpered.

"Are you a ministra?"

Chieko just stared at her.

"I'll take that as a no." Yue muttered. The woman reached down to her belt. Chieko noted the number of strange vials that hung from it. Yue's hand wrapped around a large flask and pulled it up to her mouth. The woman threw her head back and chugged the whole thing before slipping it back onto her hip. She wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "Stay close then. I'll make sure nothing harms you."

Chieko nodded quickly.

The cat turned her gaze onto Chieko again. She purred softly.

How the hell was that talking cat so calm? They were about to die!

"Leave me the big one to me, boy." Evangeline called from the balcony.

Marten did not look up or stop muttering to himself. Chieko finally noticed the jewel on his staff glowing. Had it been doing that the whole time?

The beings hit the barrier one last time and it fizzled away. They poured in and fanned out. Chieko could not even make out the door as they flew into the room. They circled and flung themselves at the nearest target. Chieko turned around in time to see the twenty that Evangeline had let go rush at Junko's group. The two women with shields stepped in closer to Rin, who had crouched with her hands over her head, to cover her better. Junko and Haruna stepped in as well to close the circle.

Chieko felt completely exposed.

Then the big one entered.

It had to crawl in, shoving the smaller shadow things out of the way. Unlike its smaller cohorts, the thing had a definite solid shape. It was a slender, giant body with numerous limbs that sprouted off it in every direction. They all ended in thin, sharp-looking hands. It stared down at them as it rose to its full height, nearly touching the ceiling. While the mask it wore was at least eighty times larger than the smaller ones, it was the same expressionless white.

Chieko whimpered again.

Marten release his spell.

Chieko could not keep track of the amount of fireballs that soared out, seeking targets. Many of them slammed into the small shadow beings. Some hit the mark on their masks. Some disappeared into their bodies. But for each that fell, another took their place.

Yue shouted something in another language and spears of lightning shot out from above her and into more of the smaller beings.

The big one raised a hand over them, sharp fingers pointed downward.

"S-Sensei!" Chieko squeaked.

A large pointed chunk of ice slammed into the body of it. The hand above them suddenly shot into the wall behind it, as the giant attempted to keep balance. The vampire cackled in delight.

Chieko turned to check on Junko and Rin.

She could barely see them through the mass of black. What glimpses she did catch were of Junko dodging and ducking as her sword flew through the air, this way and that. She neatly found the mask of any shadow thing that got near her. Haruna was standing in front of Rin, crouched still, furiously concentrated on her sketchbook. Chieko could make out more fantastic creations materializing suddenly to fight. When one fell, another popped up to replace it. The shield women did well enough, blocking any attempts from the mask freaks getting to Rin.

Chieko was suddenly shoved over, nearly toppling into Yue. The woman released another volley of those lightning-spears into a group of their attackers. She turned to see one of the creatures get through to Marten, who had shoved her, slam a sharp limb into his shoulder. Her Sensei hissed in pain and brought his staff down on its head with his good arm.

"Watch everything around us! The others will be fine, Yoshida!" Yue shouted. She held a hand out and a large concentrated blast of lightning went off directly in front of them. Chieko could hear a large number of masks break as they were caught in it. She turned to her teacher.

"Sensei! I… I'm so-sorry."

"It's… fine." He grunted. "You're not hurt are you?"

"N-No." Yue shook her head. Marten grunted again and started chanting louder. Chieko saw the blood soak his shirt as it poured out. Her heart hit her stomach like it had done a belly flop. That was her fault. He had gotten hit protecting her.

Another spear of ice slammed into the giant shadow. Evangeline cackled even louder, obviously delighted with it and brought Chieko back into reality. The giant seemed to finally get that he would have to deal with the girl floating in the air before it could squash anyone else. Hands shot into the air, attempting to grab the vampire, but she dodged each and every single one of them. The girl laughed louder, her face set in a wide grin.

She was actually enjoying this? Chieko was having miniature heart attacks and Evangeline was acting like this was a game of tag!

"Hey Haruna! We could use some cover for the girl over here!" Yue yelled out. Marten sent out another group of fire arrows into the nearest group. It thinned their numbers, but more just filled the gaps. He winced, rotating his shoulder and held up a hand. The creatures slammed into another of his barriers and Yue took them out with more of those spears she seemed so fond of.

"Hold your horses!" Haruna shouted back from somewhere in the sea of black. Two of those shield toting women appeared next to Chieko suddenly. They lifted their shields and effectively cut off any creatures attempting to circle behind them.

Anastasia jumped out of Marten's hood as he chanted again. The cat landed on the ground next to Chieko. The two mages kept fighting as she stared up at the girl.

Cheiko found herself drift out of the battle as she stared back into the cat's eyes. It was some sort of hypnotic gaze. Anastasia seemed to be staring into her very soul, as if she was evaluating her for something.

The gaze was finally broken as the cat blinked. The rush of the battle reached Chieko's ears again and the girl looked around wildly. How long had she been out?

"Tell me, Miss Yoshida. Do you intend to cower like this for your whole life?" The cat asked. She paced around the small circle behind everyone, forcing Chieko to turn her head to follow her.

"What?"

"Do you want to hide behind people like this and watch them get hurt over and over again keeping you safe? Do you truly lack the heart and soul to do these things yourself? Do you want to rely on everyone? You said you had come down here to keep everyone in line and yet you are simply hiding behind them as the danger finally comes." The cat went on. Chieko felt her heart drown in her stomach. The cat was cutting into home.

Marten cried out in pain again and stumbled back. One of the shadows had caught him on the outside of his upper thigh. His slacks were already coated crimson from the deep cut. Yue handed him a vial of orange liquid from her belt without looking at him.

"It'll stop the bleeding. Drink. Quick."

Another of her lightning spells went off.

Marten uncorked it and downed everything before stepping forward again. The glass vial dropped from his hand to the ground as he chanted. More fire arrows flew out.

Chieko finally turned down to the cat again. "What the heck am I supposed to do? I can't use magic like Sensei! I can't swing a sword like Arai! I'm only good at fighting monsters in video-games! I can't actually fight those things!"

The cat swished her tail back and forth. "And if we gave you the means to, would you fight?"

"What?"

"What if we gave you the means to? You would have strength you only dreamed of having. You would be faster than you ever were. You would have the tools to fight these creatures of darkness. Would you fight then?" The cat's eyes widened as she explained.

Chieko looked around at the chaos everywhere. She could no longer make out Arai's group at all. Her gaze snapped back to the cat.

"Of course!"

The cat purred in satisfaction and the small area of shelter erupted in a soft light. Wind kicked up from nowhere. Cheiko's hands shot down to keep her skirt from flipping up and giving everyone a good view of her underwear.

"Young one, come here. Miss Ayase, a barrier if you would be so kind." The cat shouted out. Chieko was not sure how such a loud voice could come from such a tiny animal.

"I'm a bit busy Anastasia!" Marten shouted over his shoulder.

"No! The cat has a good idea! I'm running out of spells and need to drink more anyway!" Yue shouted. The woman took a knee and slammed her open palm on the ground. All the shadow freaks that were rushing at them slammed into an invisible wall. The poured over it and blocked out all light coming from above as the squirmed and slammed against it. Only the soft flickering light from Anastasia's circle lit up the area.

Marten turned around, panting heavily. Chieko's eyes darted to all his wounds. There were so many of them. Most were small knicks and cuts, but his clothing was completely ruined. His shirt and slacks were coated in blood and ripped nearly to shreds. She let out a little whimper.

Marten gave her a forced smile. It was not very good.

"They look a lot worse than they feel." He muttered.

The cat stepped outside of her circle of light next to Yue. The woman was drinking from another flask, but her eyes were wide and focused on the two youths standing in the circle.

"You two will be forming a pactio so that Miss Yoshida can help us fight these beasts." The cat explained. She gave each of them a rather pleased look and swished her tail again.

"Now kiss."

"Kiss?" Chieko gasped.

"Another!" Marten whined.

Chieko gave him a weird look. Another? He had done this already? With who?

She nearly slapped herself on the forehead. The light around Arai earlier. The sword. Of course it was with her.

"Yes." Anastasia patted the circle with a paw. "You said you would help us, Miss Yoshida."

Chieko stared at the cat in outrage. She certainly had not agreed to kissing her teacher.

"Or do you wish to see your teacher hurt again?"

Chieko frowned. What a dirty trick!

She shook her head slightly.

"Wonderful!" Anastasia patted the circle once more. "As I previously mentioned, you'll be faster and stronger than you could have ever imagined. If we're lucky, you might even be able to summon a one of a kind artifact."

"Not much time left here kids." Yue piped up. She took another pull from her flask. "I suggest we hurry it up."

Chieko turned to her teacher, who gave her a little shrug and a helpless grin. He limped closer, favoring his good leg. Chieko could make out the sweat on his forehead. He really must have been in a lot of pain.

Just to protect her.

Chieko sighed, lowering her head. "Alright. Just… be gentle. It's sort of my first kiss."

Marten nodded and stepped even closer. She closed her eyes as his hand cupped her cheek.

She puckered up.

They kissed.

Marten's lips were salty.

Most likely from the sweat.

He broke away and Chieko's gaze immediately shot to the ground out of embarrassment.

There was a card on the ground between their feet.

Yue let out a whistle. "Been a while since I've seen one of those."

Chieko stooped and picked up the card. She stared at the incredibly detailed picture of her on one side. She was holding a two-handed…

"Hammer?" She muttered.

"A weapon then. Excellent." Anastasia purred.

"You… certainly seem happy with yourself." Marten grimaced as the cat jumped onto his back and climbed into his hood again.

"You can only imagine, young one." She purred. Her eyes turned to Chieko.

"What is this?" Chieko asked, holding the card out at the cat.

"A probationary contract." The cat said. "I'm afraid we don't have time to explain the details to you at the moment. Just say the word adeat to activate the artifact on the card. Hopefully you won't have trouble with it like Miss Arai."

Chieko frowned. None of this made any sense. Then again, a few hours ago, she thought magic only existed in her video-games and imagination. And she would have never imagined her classmate was a vampire.

She took a deep breath. Here went nothing.

"Adeat." She whispered.

The card turned into a bright light.

And a massive hammer slammed to the ground in front of her. Chieko let out a yelp and stumbled back. The handle itself was taller than she was and wrapped in a thick red leather. She reached out tentatively and wrapped her hand around it. It fit like the weapon was tailor made for her. But… that other end was an entirely different ordeal. It was silver in color, with a golden pattern of symbols on the side. The hammer head was essentially a large rectangular block.

And it was ridiculously massive.

"Wow. That…" Yue muttered. "That thing is going to hurt."

The handle looked like it would snap in half if Chieko was even remotely capable of lifting it.

"Okay. There's no humanly possible way I can lift this thing." She said to the cat.

"I'd suggest trying." Anastasia shot back, flatly.

"Five seconds." Yue warned.

Chieko got a nod from her teacher before he turned entirely around. The boy joined Yue at the front of the tight circle as she stood. She gave him a nod and he began chanting again.

The barrier fell.

Yue instantly released a spell above them, blasting their attackers out of the way.

Chieko looked at the hammer before seizing it in both hands. She glanced at Marten's back. Anastasia stared back at her from his hood. She turned back to her weapon and sighed.

She clenched her jaw and heaved upward with all her might.

The hammer shot up as if it weighed nothing at all. The girl let out a yelp of surprise as she held it entirely upright, over her head. No way! There was no possible way this was real.

Marten and Yue let loose more spells.

Anastasia moved her head up and down just a fraction of an inch.

Chieko glanced over her head. She was holding that hammer. She was holding it all by herself.

She was doing it.

Her mouth broke into a grin, which she gave to the cat.

Anastasia lowered her head back into the hood.

Chieko looked up at the approaching shadow freaks.

"Let me at them." She spat, wringing her hands against the handle of her hammer.

She leaped forward, faster and further than she ever had before. Marten and Yue nearly fell over as she shot between them, screaming wildly, straight into the approaching shadow beings.

"Yoshida-san!" Marten yelled after her.

The shadow beings converged on her and Chieko hopped over their arms as they shot down at her. The girl brought the hammer down with all her might on their heads.

They all crunched under her hammer.

Chieko let out a battle roar. She had never felt like this before. So alive! This was way better than the fights she had with Arai every day. They soared over the joy of her video-games. This was real! This was real power!

She lifted her hammer again as more approached. She held it out horizontally and swung as hard as she could.

The momentum spun her around twice, knocking the shadowy attackers out of the air as she turned round and round. She heard the vampire laughing above her, matching the volume of Chieko's girly battle cries.

Marten's staff swung over her head and cracked the mask of one who had evaded her hammer as she stopped moving. Cheiko stumbled and was suddenly aware of the light cuts on her legs. She was not escaping cleanly it seemed.

"Pay attention, Yoshida-san!" Marten scolded as Yue and he stopped next to her.

"Sorry Sensei! This is just…" Cheiko trailed off and laughed wildly.

"Dear god, she's a barbarian." Yue remarked, before flinging off another batch of lightning spears.

Marten followed it up with his fire arrows.

The smoke cleared to reveal that the creatures had stopped pouring into the room.

"At least that's stopped." Yue said.

"Still have all the ones in the room." Marten grunted. He swatted one out of the air with his staff.

"They're not that hard. There's just a lot of them." Yue added.

"Tell that to my wounds."

Yue said nothing, instead firing more spears out. Masks broke all around them.

Chieko turned to check on Sato and Arai. The girl with the sword was still fighting, but her track jacket matched her teacher's clothes. The thing was shredded and soaked with blood. Junko looked exhausted and sluggish. Haruna looked to be unharmed but was barely on her feet from exhaustion.

She spotted Rin. The girl was huddled on the ground, clutching one of her arms. Her jacked sleeve was soaked crimson.

Chieko lifted her hammer and roared again. Marten and Yue stepped back as she charged off to help the other group.

Evangeline, still laughing and having the time of her life, had not done much damage to the giant. Still she kept his entire attention as he tried the same tactic of snatching her out of the air that Chieko had seen him use earlier. The vampire just kept darting out of the way.

The hammer went up over Chieko's head and came down again. Two freaks crunched under it as she stopped in front of Arai's group. Junko stared at her in horror, nearly sinking to her knees.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." She muttered, looking past Chieko at Yue and Marten. Haruna's summoned creations kept on battling as the woman kept sketching.

"No. It's fine! Stop! I can do this allll on my own!" She shouted at them.

Evangeline finally slammed one last giant spear of ice into the giant. This time it hit the creature's mask, driving right through it. The thing cracked in half and crashed to the floor. Evangeline laughed one last time and swooped down to the group.

The remaining shadows suddenly all stopped in place.

Their empty masks hit the floor all at once around them as they vanished.

Chieko slammed the hammer down to the ground and groaned. Now she really felt all the cuts on her legs. The girl sat on her hammer and counted the cuts on her legs.

"Six." She muttered.

At least they weren't deep like Junko's.

Evangeline landed next to them and hauled Rin off the floor by her good arm. Haruna patted the girl on the back as all of her remaining creations disappeared.

"Relax. You're not dead yet, girl." Evangeline remarked.

Rin opened her eyes and let go of her arm. She looked around wildly and let out a sigh of happiness when she spotted none of their attackers. Unfortunately, it also dawned on her that the vampire had helped her up. Rin let out a squeak and struggled away. She scurried behind Junko, who had sunk to the floor on her knees, and hid.

"You're kidding me." Haruna plopped to the ground next to Junko. "You take out the daddy and all the little kiddies go down without a fight?" She groaned and turned on Evangeline.

"The hell took you so long?"

Evangeline shrugged. "Haven't had a decent fight since the brat left. It's been fifteen years. Can't blame me for enjoying myself."

Haruna let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush.

Junko groaned from her spot on the floor. Her sword clattered to the ground.

"Boy. Girl." Evangeline turned to Marten and Junko in turn. "Did you purposely let yourselves get hit this many times or have you never heard of dodging?"

Junko just stared at her arms and groaned quietly.

Marten was leaning against his staff heavily. Apparently the adrenaline had worn off for everyone, not just Chieko. The girl watched the scene, trying her hardest to ignore her painful legs.

"I… engh." He shook his head. "Do… Do I pass?"

Evangeline glanced at all the girls. She turned back to Marten and stared at him for what seemed eons. The teacher stared right back, his gaze hard. Finally the vampire sighed.

"I suppose. Someone will have to show you how to stop getting yourself killed in a fight." She lifted a hand and inspected her fingernails. "Very well. You pass."

Marten grinned and immediately crumpled to the floor. Yue just missed catching him. Anastasia tumbled out of his hood as he hit the ground and landed on all fours. She instantly turned around and nudged him with her nose.

"Young Master!"

Chieko stood, concern overriding the whole pain thing. "Sensei!"

Junko tried to stand but just winced and shook her head.

Chieko plopped back down as her legs screamed in pain.

"Evangeline, these kids are pretty beat up." Yue knelt next to their crumpled teacher and slipped an arm under him. She lifted him up with a grunt and looked at the vampire. "This boy is lucky to be breathing with all the blood he's lost."

"We should try to get in contact with Konoka. Maybe she can use a gate to get here. Take a look at them all." Haruna said, standing. "And we should get out of this godforsaken place before any more of these freaks show up."

Evangeline sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. We'll drag them to my resort. That should give them the time they need."

Haruna sighed in relief. "Fantastic. The resort sounds lovely. Glad you're inviting us."

"Ugh. Fine." Evangeline muttered. "You can come too."

"Great. I've had enough of this place for a lifetime."


	16. What was He like?

Marten shot up and started screaming.

He was alone.

And in bed.

Not his bed either.

The boy's head turned every direction, taking in this unfamiliar location as his screaming died down. He kept taking in large, unsteady breaths as he realized that this was definitely not his apartment back at Mahora. Marten pushed his bangs off his sweaty forehead and groaned. The room had two beds in it. Both were bigger than the twin in his bedroom and a lot comfier. There was an old antique writing desk against the wall across from him. A window across the room was open with a slight breeze fluttering the red curtains over it.

And the walls were made of stone.

Like a castle.

He slumped forward and placed his hand against his forehead. His whole body ached. Each breath came out shuddery and labored. The events of his test flashed by in his mind. He cringed in the bed, sweating still, as imaged kept pouring in.

The swarms of those shadow things.

The injury to his shoulder. His leg. The multiple cuts on his arms.

His students. Junko bleeding.

Rin crying.

Chieko whimpering.

Then the pactio with Chieko.

A hand touched his lips, as if she were still against them. He groaned again at the sight of the bandages covering his entire arm and hand. Bits of brown, most likely blood, peeked out from the white.

The oversized hammer flashed in his mind.

Evangeline's answer.

The floor meeting his face as he collapsed.

Marten froze and stared at his white bed sheet.

Evangeline had said he passed.

Marten chuckled softly, staring wide eyed at his bed.

He had passed. He was Evangeline's apprentice.

The boy laughed louder, throwing his head back. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he hunched over. The pain coursing through his body melted away for moments as elation replaced it.

He had actually done it.

The fact that he actually did not know where he was slammed into the front of his mind. The laughing died down as uncertainty set in. Marten glanced around, still not entirely sure where a castle or similar building would have ever popped up on the Mahora Academy campus. He was certain he would have noticed that happening.

Marten gingerly swung his legs out from the sheets and over the edge of the bed. He groaned again at the sight of the amount of bandages covering his legs too. More brown old blood spots greeted him there. The floor was stone too. The same as the wall. A rug met his feet as he touched them to the floor.

Someone had taken his clothes. All of them. His boxers were the only thing covering his lower half, besides the old bandages. He fumbled with the bed sheets before wrapping them around his waist with one hand.

He stood and nearly fell back onto the bed. Marten tried again and managed to stand rather like his legs were brand new appendages. He wobbled in place, wincing at how bad of an idea this was right now as the pain returned.

How long had he been sleeping? Had his muscles atrophied already?

Just where the hell was he?

"Good. You're up."

Marten froze at the voice and his legs took that chance to give up. He fell back onto the bed on his rear with a thump and a groan.

Evangeline did not shut the door behind her as she strode in. Marten wrapped the sheets around his waist tighter, his face burning. The vampire walked to the bed opposite from him and sat.

"Ev-Evangeline." Marten muttered, bowing his head slightly.

"It's Master, boy." She corrected.

"S-Sorry." Marten bowed his head.

Evangeline let out a little "harrumph" before she crossed her legs. "You're in my resort, if you're wondering just where you are." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. Marten wanted to shrink away under the look she was giving him. She was sizing him up like a piece of meat at the butcher's.

"What the- clothes?"

"Your clothes?" Evangeline interrupted. She continued playing with her hair. "Torn. Bloody. That royal cat of yours took Ayase to your apartment to get you a change of them. I didn't think you'd want those girls from class to rummage through your unmentionables or god forbid Saotome."

Marten blinked. "Students. Wait… the clothes? Students?"

"Or did you want to know about those three girls?" Evangeline smirked. "They're all in a lot better shape than you are, sensei. I believe they're waiting for you to wake up. I gave them free roam over most of my resort. They're coming along much better than you are with the injuries."

Marten shook his head. "No… What in the world are you wearing?" He covered his face with his hands. "Who in the world exposes THAT much skin?"

Evangeline looked down at her skimpy little ensemble and shrugged. "It's comfortable."

"You're like… ten!" Marten exclaimed. A hand lifted to dismiss her. "I can see your underwear and what ten year old wears THAT kind of underwear?"

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Boy, I'm not ten. Get that through your thick skull. I am older than you will ever be." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Besides, my house. My rules."

Marten groaned and lifted his hands slowly. Best get used to this then.

"You don't like what you see? Does this embarrass you?" She leaned back, that trademark smirk on her face.

Marten gave her the flattest look he could muster.

"Get used to it. You'll be spending a lot of time here with me now, boy." She pointed a finger at him. "Seems we need to teach you how to avoid getting hit with everything first."

Marten shrugged, wincing at how painful that simple gesture was. "I only really had a few practice duels before and none that… intense."

"And you're able to use more than fourteen fire arrows at once?"

"I can't do more than twenty-one anymore. Last time I tried, I burned a stable down." He said blankly.

Evangeline barely nodded. "I… see."

"Besides, I was… more prepared to fight you." Marten rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought I did well enough."

"You nearly died." Evangeline retorted.

"Okay… Maybe I didn't do as well as I thought." Marten revised, avoiding the vampire's gaze. "H-How long was I sleeping for?"

"About two days."

Marten nearly fell out of the bed again. "Two d-days? I've missed class!"

"Oh stop worrying. Time works differently in here. It's only been two hours in the real world." Evangeline sighed.

Marten sat down again, groaning as he did. "At least there's that, I guess."

"You certainly take a better beating than the brat did when I started training him." Evangeline mused. "Not as strong as he was though."

Marten finally looked up at Evangeline. "Master… What was he like?"

Evangeline blinked. "Who? The brat?"

Marten nodded.

She frowned. "Negi. He's an optimistic little snot. Plus, he's a moron like you. Keeps thinking he can fix everything." She narrowed her eyes. "Puts others before himself and nearly dies trying in the process, just like you."

Marten frowned.

"And he lied to me." She added. "And I don't much care for that."

"I… I see."

She shrugged. "You'd like him."

The door creaked open further and Yue, that woman who fought beside him the other night walked in. Anastasia raced in before she could get more than a foot in the door and bounded onto the bed next to Marten. He was sure that people could hear the cat purring all the way in outer-space. He scratched behind her ears as she sat on the bed next to him.

"I am glad to see you up finally, Young One."

Marten smiled.

"Look who's finally conscious." Yue tossed his messenger bag onto the floor next to his feet. "Welcome back kid. Brought you a change of clothes."

"Th-thank you Ayase-san." Marten bowed his head.

"How're the injuries feeling?"

"They… hurt. They hurt a lot actually." Marten admitted with a chuckle.

"Truth be told," Yue began as she sat on the bed next to Evangeline. "Haruna thought you'd kick the bucket in your sleep. That cat of yours kept assuring us that you'd wake up."

Marten glanced up at the cat. "She wouldn't be here if I died."

Anastasia gave him a look that clearly meant he needed to stop talking right that second.

He nodded at her. "I'm just glad that's all over…"

Yue frowned and looked at him solemnly. "Kid… that's nothing compared to what you've gotten yourself into with Evangeline."

Marten slowly turned his gaze back to Evangeline in horror. The vampire girl smiled at him. It was that particular smile that made Marten incredibly uneasy. It said "Yes. I'm sweet, but I am going to rip off your head if you cross me and I will look cute the entire time I do it." It chilled him to the very bone.

He gulped.

"I will make you wish you were never born, Sensei." Evangeline said, dripping with sweetness. She leaned forward. "I will break every single bone in your body twice. I will make you experience pain you never imagined was humanly possible. I will make you wish you had died down in those catacombs. I will drag you into the darkness kicking and screaming and I will enjoy every single second of your screaming and sobbing and pleading. And then I will do it all again until you are strong enough to make me stop."

Marten's jaw hung open.

"That's what you asked for, boy. You wanted me to train you and I will. There will be no pampering nor coddling from me. I will not go easy on you. No one that you face in a real battle would ever go easy on you." Evangeline's face hardened.

"Do I make myself clear?"

Marten stared at her silently for a moment.

"Do I have to lick your feet?" He finally asked.

Evangeline blinked in surprise before letting out a soft chuckle. "Oh ho ho. I like you, boy."

Yue groaned softly. "You told him to lick your feet?"

"Where do we start?"

Evangeline shifted in place. Yue moved so she could sit comfortably at the edge of the bed with her. The vampire held out both hands, palms out.

"There are two options for what you want to train up to."

She lifted the first hand, the one next to Yue, and tilted her head at it. "Option one is the path of the traditional mage. You leave any real hand-to-hand fighting up to your comrades and support them from the back with spells."

Evangeline lifted the other hand. "Option two is the battle mage. You'd be a more versatile opponent on the battlefield, able to shift from the front line to the back line comfortably. You'd be able to fight foes in close-combat more effectively too."

Marten nodded, biting his bottom lip.

"What would you said is the better option?" He asked.

"For you?" Evangeline shrugged again. "They've both got pros and cons. Right now you're pretty rough around the edges and we'd be building you from the ground up. Either path is a great option. I'd say traditional mage if you want to stick to throwing spells around from a distance. You'd have to learn some form of physical combat to be a combat mage."

Marten nodded.

"Yue here is a mid-ranged traditional mage." Evangeline patted the woman on the leg. "With a few tweaks."

"The more I drink, the stronger my spells are." Yue explained. "My potions also allow me to cast ready-made spells without much along the lines of chanting."

Marten bit his bottom lip as he mulled it over. Eventually, he looked at Evangeline.

"Springfield. What was he?"

"I knew you'd ask that eventually." Evangeline smirked. "For someone who didn't want to hear anything about him a week ago, you certainly seem interested in him now."

Marten shrugged.

"The brat chose the path of a combat mage." She sighed. "He learned Chinese kenpo from one of his students and a few tricks from yours truly."

"I see."

"Either way, you'll need to learn the basics before you can really set a path." Evangeline admitted. "Right now, watching you fight is basically watching you kill yourself."

Marten frowned. She did not have to keep reminding him about that. His wounds were already doing a fantastic job at that.

Marten grabbed the bag of his clothes. "Alright. So when do we start?"

"As soon as you can walk without falling over." Evangeline stood and headed to the door. 'Right now you're in no condition to do anything and I'm not going to work with that."

She pushed the door open fully and gave him one last look. "Your students would probably like to see you. You should get dressed."

Evangeline shut the door behind her.

Yue gave Marten a little smile. He busied himself with scratching Anastasia, who had already curled up into a ball next to him. The cat probably had not slept since he passed out.

"I'll change your wrappings in a little while. I'm afraid healing magic isn't my expertise and there's only so much my potions can do."

Marten glanced down at his bandaged arm. "They hurt, but thanks. I am alive, thanks to you." He rotated his shoulder, but it was too painful. He shook his head. "How're my students?"

"They're in a lot better shape that you are." Yue laughed. "But they'll have some scars unfortunately. That Yoshida girl, the one with the hammer, got it the easiest despite rushing into battle like a lunatic. The ones on her legs are barely visible.

"And Arai and Sato?"

Yue shrugged. "Not as lucky. Sato's going to have a scar on her shoulder. It should fade over a few years. That sword girl on the other hand… She's going to want to invest in some long sleeves if she doesn't want to be questioned about it all the time. Hers were pretty deep."

Marten lowered his gaze to the floor. Those were his fault.

"They could have been a lot worse if she didn't know what she was doing with that sword of hers. God forbid she had used it like that hammer girl." Yue went on. "She'd look like you did right now." She stopped as Marten began to tear up.

"Oh kid. Calm down, now. Those girls have not stopped asking about you. That Yoshida seems like she wants you to wake up so she can scold you, but they haven't stopped asking since they woke up." Yue reached over and patted him on the knee. "Geez. Crying over that? You really are like Negi-kun."

Marten wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "S-Sorry."

Yue stood and shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll let you get dressed though."

Marten watched her stroll over to the door before his curiosity got the better of him again.

"Ayase-san… I already asked Evangeline, but…"

The woman turned around at the doorway, hand on the doorknob. She raised an eyebrow. "But?"

"What was he like?"

Yue blinked. "Negi-kun?"

Marten nodded.

Yue went quiet and stared at him, as if deep in thought. Her face softened finally and a small smile played on her lips.

"He's the most kind-hearted and optimistic blockhead I've ever met." She sounded sad. "He'll always put others before himself and worries more than he ever needs to. He wants to save everyone and he wants everyone to be happy, even if it means he'd work himself to the bone for it."

Marten could help but give her a small smile back.

"I think he'd like you." She added, before slipping out the door.


	17. In for the Long Haul

Marten only had a few minutes to himself to pull on the clothes that Yue had brought him. It was one of his t-shirts and a pair of shorts. Most likely she brought shorts so that it'd be easier for her to change the bandages later. The door to his room swung open and slammed into the wall it was connected to. Junko and Rin rushed into the room, with Chieko and Haruna trailing behind them. Chieko stood behind the other two girls while Haruna lingered by the door. Junko threw her arms out and actually hugged the boy, causing his face to turn a slight pink.

"Sensei!" Junko cried out. Rin beamed behind her while Chieko managed to pull out the smallest smile possible. Yue was right though. It looked like Marten was six seconds away from being grounded by his class representative. Junko let him go and patted his good shoulder.

"Finally you're up, Sensei. We thought you'd sleep forever." Junko grinned.

"Couldn't help it." Marten smiled back, shrugging in apology.

"How do you feel, Sensei?" Chieko asked.

Marten rubbed the back of his neck. "I feel like crap actually. Kind of like I got hit by a truck. Repeatedly."

Rin stepped in front of him and frowned. Marten froze. Rin never frowned. The girl stared at him for what seemed ages. Finally she seized his head with both hands. Marten blinked in surprise as she took in a deep breath, as though summoning all her courage.

By the time Marten realized what she was about to do, it was too late.

Rin pushed her lips against his.

Marten attempted to break free, but Rin held his face tight. Haruna let out a chuckle from across the room. Chieko and Junko stared at the display in absolute silence.

Rin attempted to deepen the kiss for some reason and Marten finally struggled enough to push her off him. His face burned hotter than he ever remembered.

"Sato! W-w-what the h-h-heck?" Marten wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "What are you tr-tr-trying to d-d-d-do?"

Rin opened her eyes again and held out her hand.

"Where's my card?"

Marten stared at her in horror.

"That's… um… not how that works, Rin." Junko muttered. The girl turned away as Rin gave her teacher a confused look.

"It's not?"

"No!" Marten groaned. "Not at all!"

Rin tapped the bottom of her chin with her pointer finger. Her face brightened and she grabbed his face again. Marten squirmed away, his body screaming in agony.

"Sato!" Marten nearly fell back onto his bed again as he backed up away from his lip-happy student.

"I just want one of those card things." She pleaded.

"That girl deserves two pactios for having those kinds of balls." Haruna laughed.

Marten gave the woman what could only be described as "a look". She pointed at Rin, grinning.

"What? Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that."

Marten muttered under his breath a few choice words.

Anastasia ducked her head into the messenger bag on the bed. She popped back out with a provisional card in her mouth. She paced to the end of the bed and extended it to Chieko. The Class representative stared at her. Anastasia practically had to poke the girl with the card before she took it.

It seemed she was still wary about Anastasia.

"The card from the catacombs? You're giving it back?" Chieko gave the cat a bewildered look.

"It's a copy for you. Master Marten holds onto the originals." Anastasia explained. "It allows you to use the weapon without the young master present."

Marten gave the girl a nod.

"Okaaaayyy…"

Rin shoved Junko out of the way as she barreled towards Chieko. Junko plopped onto the bed with a surprised yelp. Anastasia had to dart out of the way to avoid being squished.

"There's latin on yours too!" Rin exclaimed. She adjusted her glasses and squinted. "I think that says… Thunder Hammer."

Marten blinked a few times at Rin's translation.

Thunder Hammer.

"_Mjölnir_?"

The three girls turned to him in confusion. Marten scratched his nose, a bit embarrassed that only he knew what he was talking about.

"It was the name of Thor's hammer."

"Who?" Junko asked.

"The Norse God of Thunder. But… his hammer was wielded with one hand." Marten explained.

Chieko glanced to the other teenagers in the room. "So… are we going to ignore the fact that Sato just tried to make out with Caruthers-Sensei because of this new card thing?"

Junko turned to her. "Why? The only person in this room who hasn't kissed Sensei is Saotome over there."

Rin giggled. "Bet mine was the best."

Marten's face turned bright red again.

"But _Mjölnir_ was originally intended to be a two handed hammer." Haruna said from across the room. She smiled. "And I don't think it's legal for me to plant one on your sensei."

All eyes travelled to her.

"It was only made into a one-handed hammer because Loki interfered with the blacksmithing process." She gave Marten an amused look. "You didn't know that?"

"Um… no." Marten muttered. "Mythology isn't… my strong point…"

"How did you know that?" Chieko asked.

"I was part of the Library exploration club when I was your age." Haruna strolled to the two girls standing next to each other. "Just like you two."

Rin gave Junko a nervous glance. The look Haruna was giving them did not bode well.

"I'm actually amazed that you two don't know about this." She grinned at the two of them. The woman's eyes flashed and she grabbed them by the shoulders.

Chieko and Rin looked at anything but Haruna. The woman's grin only grew wider as she began dragging them to the door.

"Well well well, I think your Sensei needs his rest, don't you?" She opened the door and shoved them outside. "Let's go find Yue and she can tell you all about the Baka Rangers."

Chieko and Rin looked like they were being dragged to the gallows.

Junko gave them a little wave as Haruna pulled them out of the room.

Anastasia gave the two remaining in the room a glance before jumping down from the bed. "I will have to explain the details of the probationary contract to Miss Yoshida. I will be back shortly."

And with that she sauntered out of the room after them.

Junko rubbed her neck as the cat walked out. "Think they'll be okay?"

Marten nodded, slowing down as he caught sight of the thick bandages on her arms. His smile quickly faded.

Junko caught it all and held them out. "That Ayase-chick said they'll scar pretty bad."

Marten's head dropped and his gaze sunk to the floor. Those were his fault. He had caused those. They should have had more practice or he should have put more energy into her contract. Maybe then she would not have gotten so hurt.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Arai-san." He muttered. The tears were already forming in the corners of his eyes. Ayase may have told him not to cry over this, but it was hard when it was right in front of him.

The girl shrugged and dropped her arms. "It's not so bad. They'll make me look tough, right?"

Marten gave the floor a faint smile. Junko messed up his hair.

"Besides, I look way better than you did when they hauled you up here." She smiled.

Marten allowed himself the smallest chuckle.

"Well, t-thank you for your help Arai-san." Marten looked up and smiled as best he could. "Now that I'm Evangeline's apprentice, you can go back to having a normal year.

Junko gave him a flat stare.

"Really? Are you serious?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "I kind of think having a normal year isn't going to happen at this point."

Marten frowned. "Wh-what do you mean?"

She tilted her head. "You drag me into this world of yours for one thing and ask me to forget about it all and just go back to my normal every day life?"

"Evangeline and those women, Ayase and Saotome?" Junko pointed at the door. "You need to hear the stuff they talk about from when that Springfield guy taught here. Things aren't going to be normal if that's any indication of how this year's going to go."

Marten blinked.

"What?"

Junko shook her head. "They. Were. Badasses." She grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Those girls basically helped that kid save the world. And you got the same test as he did." She grinned. "And I want to be part of that."

Marten stared at her. "You're… are you sure?"

Junko nodded. "I have ten constant reminders of what happened down there." She held out her arms again. "I'll have them for the rest of my life. I figure the least you can do for me is let me go on a few adventures when the time comes." She hit him over the head gently.

"I am not getting scarred like this for just one thing."

Marten sank down to the bed. "Wow… I just…"

Junko crossed her arms over her chest again, but gave him a grin. "I've got a mage for a teacher and a vampire for a classmate. This is going to be an awesome year."

Marten gave her his best confused look.

"I'm in this for the long haul, blockhead."

Marten's mouth twitched. Blockhead.

Was Evangeline right? Was he really like Negi Springfield?

"Arai-san… I just…" He shook his head. "I'm thankful for your help in the library, but I'm your teacher. You're my student. I am not supposed to let you get hurt."

Junko rolled her eyes. "I have ten cuts on my arms. You nearly died from blood-loss."

"That's beside the point, Arai-san. I need to protect my students, not drag them into battles they shouldn't be a part of."

"No, Sensei." Junko cut him off, placing her hand on his mouth. "Look, you got me into this world of yours. You made me your ministra."

Marten tried to object, but she tightened her grip on his face.

"I'm helping you." She commanded. "If anyone needs protecting, it's the kid who can't dodge worth crap."

Marten stared at his student in awe.

Junko removed her hand.

"Besides, I can't get my stupid artifact to show itself and Yoshida gets hers on the first try?" Junko snorted. "Fat chance I'm just going to let her show me up like that."

"You know that this is most likely going to considerably more dangerous than what we faced in the library, right?" Marten gave her a grave look. "I don't even know how a kid teaching English at an All-Girl's Academy in Japan is apparently supposed to stand against some great evil that is apparently on its way." He laughed softly. It was very forced.

"I don't even know what the bloody thing I'm supposed to be fighting is."

"Good. Even more of a reason you need my help." Junko retorted. "Hell, maybe even Yoshida should stick around and help out. I may just kill her before that thing gets here though."

Marten's face broke into a small smile.

"I take that as a yes?"

"If you'll watch my back." Marten replied.

"Only if you watch mine."

Marten's smile grew larger.

Junko smiled back. "Those two chicks have been telling us all about their adventures while we were waiting for you to wake up, Sensei." She laughed. "You have got to hear some of this. Apparently, that kid teacher, Springfield, he did this whole pactio business with like… half his class."

Marten nodded. "I've heard."

"He got into a fight with this guy who wanted to end the world and just before he was about to deliver the final blow, he offered to become the guy's friend instead. Can you believe that?" She scoffed.

Marten nodded again and stood again. His legs had begun to ache again.

"I think you'd like him."

"So I've been told…" Marten replied as he slipped his feet into his shoes. His knee buckled and Junko caught him just before he slammed both knees into the stone floor.

"Easy there, Sensei." She slipped an arm under his own and helped him up. "Maybe you should sit down for a while."

Marten shook his head. "I've been sleeping for two days, Arai. The last thing I want to see is a bed right now. Just help me find a quiet place to sit for a while." The boy extended a hand to his staff, palm out. The staff lifted from its spot against the opposing wall and floated over.

Marten's fingers wrapped around his staff and he leaned against it as he stood upright again.

"Are you going to be alright, Grandpa?" Junko laughed.

Marten frowned. "Oh please don't. Couldn't you just help me out of here, Arai?"

"Sure thing, Grandpa." She replied. The pair moved across the room slowly, making sure to not stress Marten's limbs any more than this already was.

Marten sighed. "Arai… Just… I'd rather that you call me Marten."

Junko snickered. "Alright Marten-Sensei."

"Thanks, Arai-san."

She grabbed the doorknob with her free hand and pulled it shut after them.

"Call me Junko."


	18. Promise

The bolt of lightning streaked past Marten's cheek, only missing him by a fraction of an inch. There was no time for him to catch his breath before the boy was forced to hop back to avoid seven of Evangeline's magic ice arrows.

"I'm getting closer, boy!" She shouted from across the training field.

Marten could not yell anything back as he was busy ducking another of Yue's spells.

That was how it had been over the last few days. Marten's wounds had completely closed finally and Evangeline was not about to let the boy have any downtime. This was his third day of combat training and it was running him ragged. Evangeline had not let him use barriers yet, beyond the simple personal barrier that all mages used. All Marten had was that simple little barrier and his reflexes to keep him safe.

And Evangeline was beating the snot out of him in each and every session.

Marten was not sure if fighting those strange shadow men down in the library ruins or training under his new Vampire Master was worse.

He threw himself sideways to avoid a trio of Yue's lightning spears. The ground met him with a lovely smack that reverberated up his entire body. He shoved himself up quickly, not wanting to be an easy target for either of his drill instructors.

Only for Evangeline to hit him dead-on with seven of her ice arrows. They slammed against his magic shell. The first threw him back into the ground like a ragdoll. The fifth ripped through his shield and knocked the wind out of him.

He took the last two at full force.

Marten coughed up blood as he hauled himself up onto his feet again. Two Evangelines landed in front of him. Marten blinked until they became one again.

She rolled her eyes as he hunched down to her eye level.

"Ten minutes. That's worse than yesterday." Evangeline remarked.

Marten gave her a lopsided grin. Evangeline held up a number of fingers.

"How many?"

Marten stared at them, his grin slowly fading.

"S-seven?"

Evangeline stomped her foot. "I… You…" She groaned and began thumping him over the head with a fist. "I'm! Holding! Up! One! Hand! You! Moron!"

Marten tried to shove her hand away as it relentlessly attempted to knock some sense into him. The vampire girl grabbed his wrist with her free hand and only hit him harder. Yue ran up and grabbed the girl's arm just before it hit him again.

"Ow. Ow. Owwww." Marten groaned, rubbing his head. "I'm trying, Master."

"Well try harder!" Evangeline ripped her arm from Yue's grasp and hit him on the head again.

"Evangeline, he's not doing so bad." Yue pushed them away from each other yet again. This was a daily occurrence. "Besides, not many battles last longer than ten minutes. The fight in the catacombs wasn't even as long as that once you took that big one down."

"And?" Evangeline circled around her hunched apprentice. "This boy needs to get the basics down… Which will not happen if you don't try to hit him as well, Ayase!"

Yue looked away, scratching her nose. "I've… been trying."

"TRY. HARDER." Evangeline commanded.

Yue turned back to the pair. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, all that besides, the kid could use a break every once in a while. You'll kill him if we keep up like this. Especially considering the whole nearly bleeding to death thing less than a week ago."

Evangeline sighed heavily and waved a hand to dismiss them. "Fine. Fine. Just… go. Just go. Take a break."

Marten smiled. "T-thank you, Master."

"Shut up you. Just be ready for more drills tomorrow." Evangeline sniffed and sauntered out of sight.

"Tha-thank you, Ayase-san." Marten gasped out. He stood slowly, rubbing his back as he did. Evangeline's arrows had really done a number on him. They scraped him against the stone floor every single time she hit him with them. It might have been smooth and polished, but it still hurt like crap.

"It's no problem, kid." Yue replied. "You hurt?"

"I'll live… I think." Marten muttered.

Yue nodded and made sure that Evangeline was out of sight. "Let's still take a look at your old war wounds, hmm? I want to make sure they closed up properly."

Marten nodded. Evangeline might have now been his master, but Yue had stuck around for his training too. Evangeline had put her to work for wanting to stay and often pitted her against Marten for combat practice or for the whole reflex drills he had just gone through. Every day she got upset with the woman for taking it easy on Marten.

Yue was nice and stuck up for him around Evangeline. But Marten was not exactly sure why Yue had stuck around. The woman had claimed it was to pick up a few pointers from Evangeline on the side, but that really did not seem true at all. Surely she had better things to do than watch a fifteen year-old boy get beaten to death day after day.

They walked off the training field in silence. Yue did not talk much, which was nice after spending day after day with non-stop chattering from the girls in his class. When Yue did talk it was to the point and very honest.

They made their way back to the room Marten had woken up in all those days ago. Evangeline had assigned it to him for his stay in her resort. Yue shut the door behind them and Marten peeled his t-shirt off. It was damp from what he hoped was just sweat, and not blood, from the last two hours of training with Evangeline and Yue. Marten was glad for the break from it all already. His muscles were screaming at him in agony.

He pulled out the chair from the desk across the room and sat. Yue circled around and traced over the scars from his battle. They had done this after his first day of training and they had hurt each time she touched them. Now they barely stung.

"And there's no pain with moving them about or anything?" She asked.

"A bit actually." Marten winced. "Uhm… Like now?"

"Oh." Yue lifted her hand. "Sorry."

Marten nodded. "It's fine."

"We really should have had Konoka look at these, but we haven't been able to get in touch…" Yue turned her attention to the deep scar across his shoulder. She did not touch it this time. "I can't do much with healing magic unfortunately."

"It's… alright. I'm very thankful for your help, Ayase-san." Marten muttered. "Uhm… but who's Konoka?"

Yue dusted her hands off on her pants. "Konoka Konoe. She's a woman I went to school with. She's really good at healing spells. She wouldn't have left scars like I did."

"Oh… So she was in Springfield's class?"

"Yep." Yue replied. "One of his ministra too."

Konoka Konoe. Marten let the name mull through his mind until it connected with a particular memory from when he was eight.

"Wait…" Marten's eyes moved from the floor to Yue. "You're not talking about the Grand Healer Konoka Konoe are you?"

Yue nodded. "Yep."

Marten stared at her incredulously. "You went to school with the Grand Healer?"

"Yep." Another nod.

Marten shook his head, struggling with disbelief. "That… That's incredible! I met her once. She came to our academy to help with some sick student." He grinned at her. "Isn't she the Princess of the Kansai Magic Association?

"Her father is the chief." Yue smiled. "We just call her Kono-chan though."

Marten stood and picked up the chair. "So did Saotome also go to the school with you?"

"Uh huh." Yue stretched. "She and I were close friends. Still are."

"And she was one of Springfield's ministra as well?"

"Geez. How many did he have?"

Yue shrugged. "Fifteen, I think?"

Marten's jaw dropped. That was… wow. That was a lot. "That… must have been crazy."

"Kid, you don't know the half of it." Yue chuckled. "Negi-kun's year teaching here was… insane, but the best school year ever. You'll find out for yourself soon, I'm sure."

Marten pushed the chair back under the desk. "I'm sorry?"

"How's that going by the way? The whole being a teacher thing?"

"It's a bit of a challenge." Marten frowned. "But… I'm getting the hang of it."

"Anyone confess to you?"

"Confess what now?"

"That they're attracted to you. Feelings for you. That they think you're cute. That sort of thing."

Marten froze. What the… She certainly did get to the point. "Excuse me?"

"It happened in our class all the time." She smiled again. "Haruna thinks it will be worse in your case since you're the same age as the girls in your class."

Marten blinked a few times. This point was brought up a lot… and by a lot of different people. He bit his lip. But how was he supposed to deal with that?

"You can put a shift back on now." Yue added.

Marten glanced down. No shirt. Right. His face turned pink as he scrambled for a replacement from his bag. He pulled one on quickly as Yue chuckled under her breath.

"So I'm guessing someone has?" Yue prodded further.

"A-actually no." Marten's gaze shot to the floor. "There's a girl named Masamura who keeps… making me nervous with how she looks at me. But that's it."

"Ahhh… A regular Ayaka. She'll do something soon." Yue gave the boy a shrug.

"That happened with Springfield?"

"Yep. My friend Nodoka was the first." Yue answered. She blinked a few times. "Come to think of it, about half the girls fell from him in some way or another."

Marten just nodded. Over half the girls? That… that was a lot. He gave Yue a strange look. The question on his mind could not have been any more obvious.

Yue gave him a flat stare.

"Uhm…" Marten fidgeted. "Were… you…"

Yue's flat stare continued.

"Never mind." Marten muttered. That really answered his question already.

Silence filled the room for a while.

"Yes." Yue muttered quietly. "Including me."

"I wasn't going to ask." Marten said quickly.

"I'm sure." Yue faint smile returned as she opened the door.

"Ayase-san… Just where is Springfield?" Marten asked.

Yue froze in the doorway. She slowly turned back to Marten. The woman seemed sad.

"I don't know." She said plainly. "He asked me to stay at Mahora about two years ago and left. I haven't seen him since."

"I'm… sorry." Marten replied quietly. "It's just… there's not a whole lot of information on him. I couldn't even find the name of the academy he taught at until the Magus told me."

"It's fine, kid." Yue sighed. "I think he honestly prefers it that way, what with his plan going off the rails of what he promised."

"Plan?"

"It's… a long story." Yue shook her head. "And it's something I think only he could explain, but it's basically his whole save both worlds plan."

"Oh…" Marten bit his bottom lip again. "Why… why did he ask you to stay here?"

"I'm his apprentice. Well, I was his apprentice." Yue furrowed her brow. "He said he was going to be on the other side of the gates for a while and wouldn't be able to protect Mahora."

"Protect it from what?"

"Don't know again. It wasn't a very lengthy meeting, kid. Maybe he knew something was coming. Maybe it's why you got the same diploma." Yue was not getting any happier by the second. She actually looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears. "But he asked and I can't really say no to Negi-kun. So, I stayed. Opened up a Detective Agency down in the city. I barely get out of it these days. When I do it's to solve some minor magical disturbance around the grounds or it's out looking for clues to his whereabouts."

Marten opened his mouth but was not exactly sure what he was going to say. She had probably heard everyone's condolences before.

"I haven't heard from him since he asked me to stay."

"Oh." Marten muttered, still not sure what to say. He regretted bringing it up.

"No one has." Yue continued. "And that's not for a lack of trying. When I got the call about the new discovery in the ruins of the library, I was out in London tracking down a lead. I've got everyone who can spare it looking. Nodoka is running around in the magical world with that ruin hunting team of hers. Ayaka is pulling strings where she can. Hell, even Konoka and Setsuna pop in with something every once in a while…"

"All of them are his ministras?" Marten asked. "They're all looking for him?"

"Almost all of them. Except one… and I'd ask her if that was an option." She laughed, but it echoed hollow. "Actually, I didn't know that Evangeline was still here until I bumped into her down there."

"Surely someone has…"

"Not a soul." Yue muttered. "I get hints every once in a while. A piece of paper he wrote on. A person he met before he disappeared. But it always leads right back to me. I was the last person he talked to."

Marten took a step towards the woman as he noticed the tears trailing down her face. "Ayase-san, I'm very sorry for asking… I didn't know."

"No kid. It's… its fine." Yue wiped her face on her sleeves. "Like you said, you didn't know. Heck, the only reason I know he's still alive is that my probationary card still works."

"I'm sorry."

"It's… It's just not like him. Negi never would have just abandoned us like this." She sobbed.

Marten took another step closer and extended a hand to Yue.

"Ayase-san," He gave her a smile. "I promise that I will help you protect Mahora."

Yue blinked and looked at Marten's extended hand. "What?"

"And… And if Springfield has not returned by the end of my teaching year, I will help you look for him."

Yue turned her gaze to his own. "Why?"

"Everyone keeps talking about him. I got the same diploma he did." Marten gave the woman a shrug. "Maybe it's best I did meet him. At least I could judge him for myself."

Yue smiled.

"Besides, you… saved my life really." Marten smiled wider. "I figure it's the least I can do."

The woman wrapped her hand around his and shook it.

"I was right. Negi would like you, Marten."

Marten smiled. "All the more reason to meet him then."


	19. Another Master

"Learning some sort of martial art would not be a terrible idea." Anastasia remarked. The cat padded alongside him through the forest path. "It certainly would benefit you with either path."

Marten scratched the back of his neck. "Ayase said the same thing."

They had spent two weeks in Evangeline's resort now. Marten was showing significant progress in actual battle basics, enough for Evangeline to actually mention something along the lines of praise. In fact, she actually did seem pleased with his progress. She left him leave the resort finally, seeing as his class would be starting again in an hour. The boy had gotten dressed in the resort and left promptly. His body was launching protests at him through every step. Truth be told, Marten wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment and submerge himself into a hot bath.

But duty called.

"Then we are in agreement?" Anastasia asked. "You will learn a martial art?" She padded in line with him.

"I'd need to find something that I liked. And then I'd have to find someone to teach me." He sighed. That would mean bringing another person into this secret world. His father would flip a lid if he knew how many normal people he was exposing the secret world of magic to. And the old man would have probably turned him into the Council themselves.

"We should examine your class again. The girls of this school are a wealth of information." Anastasia remarked.

How predictable.

Marten rolled his eyes and frowned at the cat. "You're just looking for another excuse for another ministra."

Anastasia said nothing.

"You're kind of transparent on this whole thing, Anastasia." He went on. "I don't understand why you keep pushing me to have more and more ministra. Evangeline is training me. I already have two Ministra. Why do I need more?"

"Because I intend to keep you alive, boy!" The cat hissed. She turned and stopped in the middle of the path.

Marten's mouth clamped shut.

"I am obligated to your family! My duty binds me to your bloodline." She drilled into him. Marten had heard it all before. Why she was a cat. Why she was stuck with the Caruthers family. And it always shut him up. Anastasia knew that.

"I will keep you alive and right now that means ministra!" The cat scolded.

"S-Sorry." He mumbled.

"I was not planning on Miss Yoshida becoming another ministra, but you were injured and times were desperate." The cat continued. "But I do not regret my decision. She handled herself quite admirably."

"I know…" He mumbled again.

"I will not allow you to die, boy." She fixed him with her icy glare.

"But I can't let my students get hurt all the time." Marten retorted. "What if one of them is killed?"

"I would see them all dead before you, Young Master." Anstasia shot back

Marten stared at the cat in horror. They were his students. He was responsible for them. There was no way he would let them die.

"A-Anastasia…"

"I am not bound to their bloodlines. I hold no responsibility towards them."

"But they're my students!"

"Then it is your job to protect them, Marten. As it is my job to protect you."

Marten let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Anastasia was older than he was. She was too dedicated to her responsibilities and stubborn to boot. There was no winning any arguments with her.

"I hold no ill will towards your students, know that. But you are far more important to me than anyone else." Anastasia trotted off to the school.

Marten stood in place, lost in thought. He thought Anastasia would have agreed to protect his students. It would never have dawned on him that she thought of them as tools. As fodder for his survival.

He blinked.

"Wait… What do you mean you weren't planning on Yoshida becoming my ministra?" He called out ofter the cat.

"Miss Sato was my first choice." Anastasia called back.

The class unfolded rather normally. Evangeline had shown up, much to his surprise, but kept her head on her desk for the entire duration of the class. They went over the assignments he had given them over the last week. There were questions for him, some even about the classwork. Most were still about him and the same uncomfortable subjects that these girls seemed to drag up every day. While it had only been a day and a half since most of this students had seen him. Marten had not seen his class in weeks, thanks to his Master's resort.

The three girls he had taken down into the catacombs seemed to be back to normal. Rin was taking notes as usual, a small smile on her lips. It grew wider anytime their gazes met. Following her failed attempt at a pactio, this unnerved Marten more than usual.

Chieko was back to her cold, analytical self. It seemed that she would only ever smile at her teacher when that giant hammer was in her hands. She had already taken off her bandages. Marten could make the faint outline of a scar peeking over the top of her sock. When his gaze came back up, Chieko was practically scowling at him. He buried his face back into his book and resumed listening to another student stumble through her translations.

Junko was staring out the windows again. Marten had been careful to treat lightly with his first ministra after the fight. They had possibly smoothed over everything with their little chat back in the resort, but he still felt the heavy guilt whenever he was around her. He caught sight of the white cloth bandages straying out of her blazer's sleeve. Junko tugged the sleeve up as Marten noticed it, hiding it from sight again.

She gave him a small soft smile.

It did nothing to rid the feeling weighing on his heart, but Marten gave her the same sort of smile back. Though his was forced.

Marten shook his head, dismissing any thoughts of Junko hurt and Anastasia's remarks from that morning. The less he thought about it, the better. While Junko's wounds were his fault for dragging her into danger like that, it was not exactly the greatest idea to get flustered over it now. Especially in front of thirty-one teenage girls.

The boy let out a little sigh and continued his lecture. He could not let it bother him. There was a class to teach.

The girls filtered out at the bell, save for Marten's spelunking trio and the vampire. Kida was the last girl who left, giving Marten a wink as she walked out. The boy shuddered as the three remaining girls joined him at the podium. Evangeline stood behind them, arms over her thin chest.

"Glad to see you're walking around." Arai said. "And without your staff. Good for you, Grandpa."

"I thought I said to stop calling me that."

Anastasia slid out of her usual hiding spot and yawned. Rin instantly crouched and started scratching the cat. Anastasia purred in reply, closing her eyes.

Marten had a hard time dismissing his conversation with his cat from earlier out of his thoughts. Anastasia saw these girls as tools. Nothing more.

She had only kept them protected as potential ministra.

"How's training been?" Arai asked, gaze shifting between her teacher and the vampire.

Marten looked to his Master.

She gave him her flattest look before opening her mouth.

"Sensei has finally grasped the idea of moving out of the way of things trying to kill him." She chided. The vampire closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, it's only the idea."

Marten frowned. He may have spent two weeks with Evangeline, but he still did not particularly enjoy his time with her. Most of her training seemed to be insulting him or laughing at him.

"Glad to see that nasty bruise cleared up though." Evangeline smirked.

Marten scowled. His Master had decided to add a vigorous physical portion to his reflex drills. This mostly entailed Evangeline repeating the events of the first day Marten had met her. The bruise she was referring to was a black eye that she had gifted him with when she unexpectedly changed from magic to muscle.

Evangeline never announced when there would be a change. He would just suddenly feel her fist or foot connect with another part of his body.

Marten let out a little sigh. "Yes. Thank you, Mc Dowell."

Evangeline raised an eyebrow at him.

"Master…" Marten mumbled. Evangeline smirked in reply.

"As glad as I am that you're doing so well with this side project of yours, Sensei… You are still going to actually teach us right?" Chieko asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Pfffft. Who cares if we get a free ride in his class? Less classwork would be a blessing." Rin giggled from below. Anastasia still purred along.

"I do, Sato!" Chieko snapped. "I am not going to ruin my future just because my teacher happened to be a wizard!"

"Mage." Junko corrected.

Chieko just glared at her.

Marten put up his hands. There was a fight brewing here, that much he could sense. Best to put it out now.

"I won't slack in my teacher duties, Yoshida-san. I promise." He reassured.

The Class Representative looked at him as one might look at a naughty child. Marten tried his best at a reassuring smile.

"We'll see." She finally muttered, before looking away.

Marten mentally groaned. Nothing had changed there, apparently.

"Are we running drills today?" Junko asked. She was looking directly at the cat currently on her back. Rin scratched away at her exposed belly.

The cat suddenly rolled over and attempted to pretend none of that had actually happened.

"Ahem… That is entirely up to her." Anastasia fixed Evangeline with an icy glare.

Evangeline gave the cat a rather sweet smile.

Marten coughed into a fist to relieve the tension.

"Uhm… Master…" He began. Evangeline turned to him.

"Ayase mentioned it would be beneficial for me to learn a martial art."

"And?" Evangeline raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm… Do you have any suggestions as to what to learn or from who?"

Evangeline shrugged. "It's all about what suits you. But you could stand to learn how to keep moving your feet and not stand there like a perfect target." The vampire put her hands on her hips. "However, I'm already dragging you through your mage training. I am not about to start teaching you how to throw a punch too."

Marten frowned.

"You could ask Watanabe." Rin suggested as she stood. "She's the class expert when it comes to those sorts of things. I think her dad is the head of some dojo or something."

Junko muttered something under her breath. Chieko looked away, frowning deeply.

Rin smiled.

"Watanabe?" Marten asked.

"She sits in the front row." Rin pointed at the desk usually occupied by his least favorite staring ogling student. "Noriko Watanabe."

Marten opened the class roster on his podium.

"There's no way you haven't seen her before. She's the tallest girl in the class, Sensei." Rin pouted.

Marten bit his bottom lip.

"She's the one who always keeps these two from killing each other." Rin patted Junko and Chieko on the shoulders.

"She certainly looks like she can fight." Evangeline remarked.

Marten jumped as he noticed his Master was looming over his shoulder.

"Yeah. She can." Junko snorted.

Marten's heart returned to a normal pace. The boy caught sight of Noriko Watanabe's somber expression in his roster. She looked even unhappier than Evangeline.

"Have any of you ever head Watanabe say a word?" Chieko asked, glancing between the group." Why can't Arai just teach Sensei how to wave a sword around."

"It's called fencing, Yoshida." Junko snapped back. "And have you seen how you use that stupid oversized mallet of yours?"

"It's better to learn something that doesn't rely on a weapon." Evangeline interjected. She stretched and yawned before walking to the door. "Be at my place later boy."

"She's got a point." Rin muttered. "I'd still say that Watanabe is the way to go."

Junko sighed. "There's just one more problem with that."

Chieko gave her a look. "Oh what now?"

Rin frowned. "Oh. Right. That."

Marten was equally as confused as his Class Representative. He shut the roster and slid it into his bag. The boy's gaze never left the group of girls in front of him.

"What?" Chieko suddenly snapped. "Are you both going to share or are we going to have to guess?"

Junko adjusted her bag. "Well, it's just… Watanabe is one-half of the delinquent duo of 3-A."

Rin offered an apologetic smile. "They're never apart."

"Who's the other half?" Marten asked, bewildered.

Rin and Junko exchanged glances. Chieko's face filled with sudden realization before she turned to her teacher.

"Masamura."

Marten cringed at her name. The last thing he wanted was to spend any amount of time with that girl. Still, something did not quite add up.

"Delinquents? I haven't seen these two miss class once." Marten scratched his head. "They've certainly been to class more than Evangeline has."

Junko shrugged. "That's not how it was last year."

"But Masamura is… nice, albeit excessively creepy."

"That's because she wants to see what Sensei looks like with less clothes." Rin giggled.

Marten's face turned red.

"Masamura is going to be a pain." Junko groaned. "She's going to go crazy when she sees you've come looking for her and Noriko."

"I can't possibly imagine what she would do if she found out we all kissed Sensei." Rin added.

Marten, Junko and Chieko all suddenly found their shoes to be quite interesting.

Rin giggled and picked up Anastasia.

"Oh this is going to be fuuuuuuunnnnnn…."


	20. Move your Feet!

[Update: Explanation of my lack of updates has been added to my profile.]

Kida Masamura was stick-rail skinny and if this part of Mahora wasn't strictly female students, Marten would have pegged her for a boy. She appeared to be fifty percent long orange hair. The straight locks went well past her waist and usually hid her eyes from view. Yet, when he did catch those eyes, they were focused directly on him. And that look. She looked hungry. Like a lioness about to pounce on her prey.

She made Marten incredibly nervous.

It might have only been a week since he had started, but he would still rather spend the entire day with Evangeline than five minutes with Masamura.

Years of the Wales Academy had trained him in many things, but never in dealing with members of the opposite sex. Perhaps if he had graduated four years earlier, as it was normally intended, he would be able to handle things a little better.

There had been a crush back at the Academy a few years ago, by the name of Juliet. But that was years ago, back when they were both at the Academy. At that age, it was sort of "If I pull her hair, she'll talk to me" deal. Unfortunately, Juliet graduated at the age of ten and Marten managed to sleep through five of his eight final examinations.

The other three did not go so well either.

So, Kida made Marten extremely nervous, because he just did not know exactly what was going through her mind. At least Evangeline was clear on her intentions. She wanted to break his body in half and devour his soul. In a way.

"So does this mean you'll be letting them into our little circle?" Rin asked. She made a circular motion with one finger.

Rin and Junko had decided to accompany Marten on his search for delinquent duo.

"Not if I can help it." He replied. Ideally, he would just ask Watanabe to train him in whatever she thought would suit him and they could never discuss "magic" or his ability to wield it.

"I still don't see why you couldn't just wait until after class tomorrow." Junko sighed behind them. She had done nothing but complain since they had left. "It's just going to be a hassle looking for them all over campus."

"You can both go to Gym with Yoshida. You don't need to skip on my account." Marten suggested once again.

Junko snorted. "And leave you alone with Masamura? That is definitely not going to happen."

"You wouldn't last a second with Kida left to her own devices." Rin added. "Besides, gym class is dreadful and you're still all beat up looking. We couldn't let our poor, wounded teacher wander off alone." Anastasia was cradled in her arms and, while she would insist it was all against her will, the cat was enjoying every minute of it. The purring confirmed that. Rin had announced herself as Anastasia's new personal carrier.

Marten frowned.

"Just let us help, Sensei." Junko called out. "Besides, it's not exactly skipping class if we're with you, right?"

Marten turned his head to the two girls walking behind him. He flashed his sternest look at them, hoping they would get the hint that this was going to be something that happened often.

Junko scratched her cheek, ignoring him.

Rin grinned back.

"You two are the worst." Marten muttered, before stomping off.

"So are we just going to wander around until we find them? That is a terrible plan, Grandpa." Junko fell in line with her roommate. "If Masamura doesn't want to be found cutting class, she isn't going to be easily found. We aren't just going to bump into her."

Marten shook his head. "Junko, keep in mind that your teacher is a bit more capable than most. I'll find her. We aren't just going to be wandering around the campus aimlessly." He stopped at the bottom of the stairs that led to the Mahora's main building and closed his eyes.

"Ooooh. More magic?" Rin asked, excitement suddenly flooding into her voice.

Marten took a deep breath. The two girls could not have gone for. If they were still in range, he could locate them, no problem. Marten muttered the simple incantation under his breath. He muttered the simple incantation under his breath.

His eyes opened.

It was just a flash, but he knew where they were basically. He would have to repeat the incantation when they got closer, but at least he had a heading now.

"Woods." Marten muttered, before taking off. The girls were on his heels moments later.

The trio streaked across the campus, managing to avoid any faculty members by some miracle. At least after this, Marten could head straight to Evangeline's resort, since her little cottage was relatively close by. They reached the edge of the woods in a matter of minutes. Marten slipped between the trees, not bothering to slow his pace.

Rin lagged behind Junko, who was still struggling to keep up with her teacher through the closely packed trees. Maybe Evangeline's training had paid off apparently. Marten loped easily between the trees, always narrowly avoiding just hitting them. He ducked under low hanging branches. The wind whistled as he avoided slamming his head into tree trunks and branches. He could hear Junko curse as she smacked the occasional piece of foliage. Rin was calling for them both to slow down, her voice cracking and straining with exhaustion.

Finally, Marten skid to a halt in a small clearing. His heels dug into the ground, tearing through the dirt and grass as he stopped. He had to allow Rin and Junko to catch up. They did not have his magic reinforcement to his natural physical abilities, so he did have a leg up on them. Marten took a moment to catch his breath and Junko jogged into the clearing.

She slowed to a trot as she got near and stopped next to her teacher. She hunched over and let out a few ragged breaths before standing up straight. "Looks like you're faring better than when we last saw you at Evangeline's, Gramps."

Marten gave her a little smile.

Rin crashed into the clearing. She stumbled up and fell flat on her face, panting as though she had almost drowned. Anastasia managed to gracefully jump out of the girl's arms before she hit the ground.

"Why'd we stop?" Junko asked. Marten could make out the sweat beading on her forehead.

"Stopping… Stopping is cool." Rin groaned from her spot on the ground. "I'm totally cool with taking an hour break from running."

Marten and Junko looked at the girl sprawled out at their feet.

"Or just… forever." She added.

Junko rolled her eyes before she crouched and helped her friend up into a standing position. Rin groaned again and smiled weakly.

"Let's… never do that again, okay?"

"She could have kept the pace with Miss Arai, Young Master, if she had become a Ministra." Anastasia chimed in. The cat began to pace around Marten in a slow circle. "Who knows what Miss Sato would be able to do if she was part of a provisional contract…"

Rin suddenly brightened up, forgetting her exhaustion at the mention of becoming a Ministra.

"The card thing with the powers? Yes please." She grinned from ear to ear.

"Stow it, Anastasia." Marten growled. The last thing he wanted was to put Rin into any more dangerous situations. The girl might already know about the magic that was secretly all about her now, but putting her into battle, into harm's way, was the last thing he wanted. He already would have to worry about Junko and Chieko using their powers responsibly. There was no need to start worrying more about Rin now. Putting her into the line of battle, into harm's way, was the last thing he wanted.

"She is quite eager to take part in one." Anastasia continued to pace around him. "Why do you continue to fight me on this matter?"

Rin smiled even wider and leaned closer to her teacher. "I bet it's the kissing part. It's the kissing part, isn't it?"

Oh wonderful. She was teasing him now.

Marten's face turned a violent shade of red. "N-No. It's n-not that, S-Sato-san." The boy gave Junko a look that clearly meant help me.

Junko looked away with a shrug. She was already holding her best friend at a respectable distance. Not much else she could do. Rin untangled herself from the girl with a lot of pushing and shoving and struggling. She took a step closer to Marten.

"We could always use more help, Young Master." Anastasia purred. "And she is offering it."

"I'm n-not going to put her in any m-more danger." Marten objected. The boy took a step back.

"Junko's got one and she can't even get her sword out of it. She fights for you." Rin took two steps closer to him.

"Hey now." Junko butted in. Her inability to pull her artifact out of her pactio card was a touchy subject.

"There is a chance her artifact will not be combat oriented." Anastasia went on.

Great. More of this. Of all the times to be stuck in the woods…

Marten shot his cat a glance. "Anastasia. Drop. It." He growled.

Rin was right in front of him now. Marten almost jumped back in surprise as she wrapped her fingers around one of his wrists.

"I just want to help you, Sensei." Rin cooed. Her other hand found its way into the hair on the side of his head.

Marten's face was on fire.

"Guys, if he doesn't want to do-" Junko began. Anastasia's gaze turned on the girl and she fell silent.

"S-Sato, I r-really don't wat to-" Marten stammered.

"Shhhh…" Rin smiled. "Just let me help you."

Anastasia finished her circle.

Marten felt the air around them grow warmer. Rin's hands found their way to his shoulders.

"I… uhm…" Marten mumbled.

His previous pactios had been out of necessity. Rin was practically begging for one, right in front of him. This was entirely different.

His mouth went dry.

Rin closed her eyes and leaned in closer. Marten gulped. Perhaps they were right. He could always use more help. Another Ministra could not really hurt. Besides, like Anastasia said, there was not any guarantee that her pactio would be combat oriented. What were the odds he would get three of those in a row?

This would be the last one then.

Marten closed his eyes. He could feel Rin's breath getting even closer.

"Oooh. I'm next, Sensei."

Junko let out a yelp of surprise. Rin suddenly spun around and Marten toppled over into her from the momentum. The pair hit the ground, Marten on top of the poor girl.

Anastasia hissed in disgust.

Marten let out a small sigh of relief. That was close. Anastasia almost forced him into another pactio.

A tall girl with blue hair and a shorter one with long orange hair strolled into the tiny clearing.

Noriko Watanabe and Kida Masamura.

They both stared at Rin and Marten. While Kida's gaze made Marten nervous, Noriko's presence actually terrified him. The girl was at least half a foot taller than him and would not looked out of place with warrior face paint and a sword in her hands. Her hair was cut short, with long bangs framing her face. It had been dyed an outrageously bright shade of blue. The girl shadowed Kida, arms crossed over her chest. She looked like she was made entirely of spun-steel beneath that skin. Worse yet, she gave off a completely violent aura.

She was made to destroy things and she would do it exceptionally well.

Marten and Rin scrambled to their feet. Rin dusted herself off, scowling.

"Damn. So close." Rin muttered.

"This is what you do to skip class? Sign me up." Kida grinned.

Marten dusted his jacket off and glared at Anastasia. She had very nearly got the caught using magic.

"And just what are you doing out here, Masamura?" Junko asked.

Kida's eyes never left Marten. He shuddered as he felt her gaze wash over him. She gave him a hungry smile.

"I could ask you the same, Arai." Kida spat. "You're usually too much of a goody-goody to actually ditch a class."

Junko clenched her fists tighter. "I don't like your tone, Masamura."

Noriko cracked her knuckles.

"Careful now, Arai." Kida smirked. "Noriko doesn't much like how you're talking to me."

Junko scowled and took a step closer to Marten.

"And you brought the air-head with you too." Kida clucked her tongue. "My, my Sensei. You have such an odd taste in girls."

"Why would he choose an ironing board like you, Masamura?" Junko shot back.

Kida's eyes closed and she took a deep breath. "I was talking to Sensei, Arai. I suggest you keep quiet."

Marten gulped. Maybe he preferred the Masamura in class to this one.

"A-Actually, I w-was hoping I could speak to W-Watanabe-san." Marten stuttered. "If that's alright, Masamura-san."

It was like he flicked a switch on Kida.

The girl's face brightened and she let out an oddly girly giggle. It was frightening. "Oh, Sensei." Oh wonderful. It was in sing-song. "Of course. You can talk to Noriko all you want." She smiled at him, that hunger lurking beneath.

"She might not say anything back though." She pouted. "And I'm a bit hurt you don't want to talk to me."

Marten managed a weak little squeak through an even weaker smile.

Kida's switch was flipped again. "And you certainly didn't need to bring these losers with you." She growled.

Junko scowled at her. Rin slowly backed up behind her roommate.

Marten turned his attention to Kida's somber-faced companion.

"Uhm… Watanabe-san. I was…" He trailed off as the girl fixed him with her stare. All he could see was his violent murder. He forced a cough, into his fist, before starting again when his nerve returned. "I'm… I'm looking to pick up a martial art. Something to keep me in shape and get me more involved with some of the students. I just… I don't know anyone who could teach me something that would suit me."

Noriko blinked.

"A-And I w-was told to ask you f-for your opinion."

Noriko turned to Kida. The orange-haired girl nodded and she turned back to Marten. Noriko took four steps forward towards him as she pulled her jacket off. She tossed it to Kida and bowed in front of Marten.

Marten, confused, bowed back lightly.

Noriko immediately shot back up and shifted into a fighting stance.

Marten blinked and nearly took a jab to the face. He leaned out of the way, still feeling the breeze as her arm shot past him, and just managed to avoid her fist. It slammed into the tree behind him and he heard it splinter.

Thank Evangeline for starting her random physical assaults.

"What the hell, Masamura?" Junko shouted.

Noriko followed up with an uppercut, which Marten barely managed to avoid again.

Kida shrugged. "Noriko can't exactly tell him what to learn without a practical application."

Marten felt Noriko's fist clip his side as he moved out of the way of that punch.

"Oooh. Don't mess up his face, Noriko." Kida called out.

"Damnit, Grandpa! At least put up your fists!" Junko pleaded.

Marten pulled up his hands, balled them up into fists and focused. Noriko's fist shot out again. He ducked a haymaker and stepped out of the girl's range again. He was not about to hit one of his students, despite the fact that Watanabe was attacking him.

She closed the distance in two steps and caught him one in the gut. The wind was knocked out of him. Marten stumbled out of her range again. He coughed and shakily put up his fists again.

She hit nearly as hard as Evangeline.

Noriko advanced again. Marten could see the next punch, a left hook, as it flew towards him. Evangeline threw faster. Marten dodged that punch and, by some miracle, managed to grab her wrist.

This was a mistake.

Noriko twisted her arm, reversing the hold he had on her. She grabbed his arm and her whole body moved as she brought a leg up.

The top of her foot slammed into his ribs twice. They knocked the wind out of him again. Marten felt her hand let him go.

She finished with a kick to his head that sent Marten straight to the ground.

Noriko lowered her leg slowly.

"Noriko! I told you not to hit the face!" Kida whined.

Noriko gave the girl a quick nod.

Marten groaned as she stood up again. His head was ringing as he put both his fists up again. Noriko stared at him as she shifted back into her fighting stance.

She advanced again. Marten managed to avoid three more punches before Noriko grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed her knee into his side.

Marten went down again.

"Sensei!" Rin called out.

"Masamura, call your attack dog off." Junko growled. She had managed to pick up a heavy looking stick and was holding it out at Masamura.

"She's only doing what Sensei asked her to do." Kida replied. "It's not like she's going to kill him."

Noriko was suddenly next to Junko. She brought her hand down in a chop on Junko's stick, breaking it just at her grip.

"She will, however, not be so easy on you if you threaten me again."

Marten stood slowly again. "Leave… Leave Junko alone, Watanabe-san."

The girl turned around and resumed that stance again. Noriko waited patiently until Marten put his fists up once more before advancing again.

The boy ducked a right jab. Noriko's leg swung out again. Marten stopped it at her knee with one hand.

She hit nearly as hard as Evangeline. She moved almost as fast as Evangeline.

He smiled.

But it was only nearly.

And he had been going through broken bones and bruises boot camp with Evangeline.

Unfortunately, the girl caught him with a quick punch to the chest and he stumbled back. His back touched a tree.

Junko hissed as through in pain. "Gramps, I'd try moving your feet more."

Marten leaned out of another of the warrior's iron punched before retreating out of her range again.

Alright. Keep moving. That seemed like the best option. Noriko kept hitting him by closing the distance and trapping him.

But if he kept moving…

Noriko stepped forward again and her fist came flying. Marten stepped just past it and gave her whole arm a push away.

Noriko grunted and tried again. Marten ducked this one and stepped out of her range again.

The girl's foot lashed out. Marten put his hands up as he saw it.

They clamped down on her show. Noriko looked just as surprised as Marten did at the sight of it.

"I'm not going to hit you." He sputtered out through his clenched teeth.

And then he shoved her back. The iron girl fell to the ground on her rear.

Junko and Rin cheered.

Noriko gave him a steely gaze before standing up. She dusted herself off and stepped up to Marten again. The boy stepped back and readied himself for another assault.

The girl bowed.

The boy dropped his stance slowly, unsure of if this was a trick of not. When Noriko did not come at him with a fist, Marten bowed back.

Noriko came back up an grabbed her jacket from Kida. The tall girl pulled it back on before facing Marten again.

"You have long legs. You are agile." She said carefully. Her voice was deep and monotone.

Junko and Rin looked surprised. This was probably the first time they had ever heard her speak.

"It would be best if you utilized your leg reach and got you in the habit of always moving your feet. Kickboxing. Savat. It's French. I believe it would suit you."

Marten, his side aching, bowed again. "T-thank you, Watanabe-san."

"I will teach you. If Masamura-sama allows me."

Noriko turned to Kida, who was busy staring at Marten with that hungry look again. Marten shifted in place awkwardly.

Finally, Kida grinned.

"Very well. Just on one condition…"

Marten frowned.

Junko scowled.

Rin giggled.

Kida pointed at Marten.

"Sensei has to teach me magic."


End file.
